In a number of states, polling places have been closed in minority neighborhoods, which has created long lines and tremendous inconvenience for affected votersinconvenience with a cost, especially for those paid hourly wages. Four more states only provide time off for biennial, even-year elections: Delaware, Louisiana, Michigan and New Hampshire. In many other democracies around the world, national elections are held on the weekend or are a federal holiday. For rest of the festival holidays the declaration . There are some exceptions; as Wednesday was not covered by the available dates, the Netherlands holds elections on Thursday, while Denmark holds elections on Sunday. "I'm not a fan," said Eddie Perez, an election administration and election technology expert at the Open Source Election Technology (OSET) Institute. So the question of how you label Ireland goes back to which holiday you consider its national day. 3. In 2018, a Pewstudy found that 65% of Americans favored making Election Day a national holiday. People literally cannot get to the polling booth because it may close at 7 o'clock and they're working later. Saudi Arabia's marks the 1932 unification of the country. While making Election Day a national holiday or moving it to the weekend would by no means be a cure-all, it could be used in conjunction with other strategies like automatic voter registration (nearly 87% of registered voters participated in the 2016 election), restoring voting rights for formerly incarcerated people and removing other barriers such as voter ID requirements and voter roll purges that often disenfranchise people of color. For more on the debate about making election day a national holiday, visit ProCon.org. From 2021, the first Sunday of June. Countries like France, Germany, and India all recognize Election Day as a national holiday or hold elections on the weekend in order to increase voter turnout. In addition to honoring the sacrifices veterans have made, it would remind Americans that voting is a national duty, an obligation both to one another and to the nation; and it would strengthen American democratic political culture, by way of new rituals and traditions, Jill Lepore a Harvard professor of American history wrote in an essay for Politico. ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. South Korea and Israel hold theirs during the week, but have made the day a federal holiday. Proponents say the Electoral College ensures everyone selects the president. A 2018 Pew survey found that the majority of Americans (65%) would be in favor of turning Election Day into a national holiday that includes 71% of Democratic-leaning voters and 59% of Republican-leaning voters. According to Pew Research data, US voter turnout trails most developed countries. Why or why not? Common reasons for a certain day are the date on which a state or country achieved its independence, or the date of the country's patron saint day. The COVID-19 pandemic convinced. It worked. Over 60 court cases reviewed the evidence and judgesappointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents alikereached the same conclusion: there was no compelling evidence of fraud. However, those numbers may be attributed to a combination of factors not solely because their elections occur on non-work days. Take, for example, Bhutan, which every celebrates the anniversary of Ugyen Wangchuck's 1907 election as the nation's first hereditary king (yes, you read that correctly), but not its 1949 independence. Topics Explainers Politics US Evergreen US Explainers YOU MIGHT LIKE - Vincent Hutchings, a University of Michigan political science professor, - Gil Troy, American presidential historian, Whether accurate or not, elected officials likely think that making it easier to vote would advantage one party traditionally it is believed to help the Democrats at the, Joaquin Corbalan / EyeEm via Getty Images, as travel and communication improved in the 19th century, being too busy or having a conflicting schedule, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, substantially increase the cost of running elections, move that would make it easier for Americans to vote, The types of workers least likely to reap the benefits. Of these countries, 27 hold their national elections on a weekend. Some countries, about 27 of them, make voting compulsory. Election Day in the United States of America is the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. To make Election Day a national holiday, it would take an act of Congress, and so far, no bills proposing such action have passed. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Today in my country it is a national holiday as we celebrate the day when St. Paul converted our whole country to Catholicism in AD 60. An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation.Many countries commemorate their independence from a colonial empire.. Not all countries mark independence as a national holiday. 22 June 1986, 29 October 1989, 6 June 1993, 3 March 1996, 12 March 2000, 14 March 2004, 9 March 2008, 20 November 2011, 20 December 2015, 26 June 2016. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. The Freedom to Vote Act would make Election Day a national holiday for federal elections, meaning non-essential federal employees would get a paid day off. And some countries, like Australia, require people to vote by subjecting those who dont to a minor fine equivalent to a traffic ticket. CBS News reporter covering climate change and energy. And even a number of the blue countries, such as Australia and Canada, are actually the product of colonialism. Part of HuffPost Home & Living. Others have suggested making Veterans Day (Nov. 11), which is already a paid national holiday, Election Day. South Africa's is from the first democratic elections, in 1994. As Congress continues to grapple with voting rights legislation this week, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has used his considerable influence as the Senates key swing vote to set the terms of the debate. Saturday, but can be any day of the week, such as when a Saturday conflicts with a holiday. The pros and cons of the felon voting debate include arguments about the social contract, voting while in prison, and paying debts. But Gupta said that there's been a "lack of political will" to give the initiative some momentum. Disclaimer: Dates and Events correct at time of printing but may change without our knowledge. Nine states classify general elections as holidays: Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia. And some countries, like Australia, require people to vote by subjecting those who don't to a minor fine equivalent to a traffic ticket. That means the stock market will be open, and so will. Most others are not so recent, but still not so old: Taiwan's, for example, goes back to a 1911 uprising. In the 2016 election, only 56% of voting-age Americans cast their ballots. 4. Here are the proper bibliographic citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): [Editor's Note: The APA citation style requires double spacing within entries. The Freedom to Vote Act would make Election Day a national holiday. Election day is a national holiday. Veterans Day typically is about one week after Election Day so this would involve little disruption in terms of job schedules and monthly routines. [12], The idea that voting should be a celebration, not a chore is one argument for turning Election Day into a national holiday, according to Archon Fung, PhD, and Jane Mansbridge, PhD, professors at the Harvard Kennedy School. Currently, 22 countries around the world have mandatory voting, and ten of those countries enforce the policy, including Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Peru, and Switzerland. [17] Countries such as France, Mexico, and India also observe federal holidays for elections. [24] Holidays usually mean more work hours for retail workers, because stores run promotions and sales. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. But experts say improving voter turnout is a complicated issue that no single silver bullet strategy can solve. Election dates are determined by the General Elections Commission (Indonesian: Typically on a Friday, but precise date set by, Municipal, provincial, and regional elections take place on a Sunday, as do elections for the. Examine this opinion article from Evil HR Lady Suzanne Lucas on why election day should not be a national holiday. "With the variety of challenges that election officials face, [making Election Day a holiday] is well down on the list of those things that need to be addressed," Becker said. And that election saw the second highest voter turnout in 20 years. Arizona, for example, allows employees who do not have three consecutive hours before or after work when the polls are open to take paid time off to vote at the start or end of their work days. All 435 representatives were up for re-election, as well as a third ofsenators, and countless elections for governors, mayors, state legislators, and local government across the country. America is walking the knifes edge between maintaining and losing democracy. This article was published more than10 years ago. Elections to the Bundestag may be held on another public holiday. "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons." Here is the relevant passage from Acts 28: In the 2016 presidential election, 60% of the eligible voting population vast a vote; this year, a staggering 47.5%participated in the midterms, compared to 37% in 2014 and 41% in 2010, the years of other midterm elections. [26] Caravanas are joyful, noisy parades of cars festooned with flags and other decorations that stream through Puerto Ricos streets ahead of an election and are credited with the islands over 80% voter turnout. the Tuesday that occurs within November 2 to November 8. "We should be making it easier for people to vote, not harder. Tuesday was chosen because it was most convenient for farmers traveling by horse and buggy at the time. First Sunday of October. 3) Britain and Denmark have no national days. When turnout is high, it becomes increasingly fruitless for politicians to play to their base in ways that allow a vocal minority to rule, which is how many American leaders currently operate. In an interview with President Barack Obama in 2016, Dan Corey, editor-in-chief of Rutgers University's official student newspaper, The Daily Targum, asked Obama about what could be done to reverse the US's low voter turnout: The Daily Targum: "You have pointed out many times that voter turnout in the United States is very low, especially compared to other developed nations. Updated: 7:01 AM EST November 2, 2020 ATLANTA For many Americans, voting on Election Day is a tradition, and some wonder why it's not a national holiday. There is a simple and straightforward solution: make Election Day a national holiday so that people have the time and freedom to vote without taking time off from work. Presented by:Defense Language and National Security Education Office, 60% of the eligible voting population vast a vote, looked at a few different methods of voting. While some states have made Election Day a civic holiday (though it primarily applies to public workers) and most have laws that require companies to give employees some time off to vote, none of the legislative efforts to enact these changes on a national level have been successful. Argentina has instated compulsory voting laws, but only sees about 76% voter turnout.
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