Whether election day should be made a national holiday is debated. Would making Election Day a federal holiday increase voter turnout and celebrate democracy? But it is not a federal holiday. "Election Day should be a national holiday so that everyone has the time and opportunity to vote," Sanders' website reads. Russia's national holiday only goes back to 1992, when the Russian Federation was founded. ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. 0:58. Third Monday of October every four years, or after Parliament is dissolved by the. But while . Accessed February 21, 2023. https://www.procon.org/headlines/election-day-national-holiday-top-3-pros-and-cons/, potential benefits and difficulties of changing election day, election day should not be a national holiday. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Part of HuffPost Home & Living. - 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. [15] A survey showed that US adults would rather have a federal holiday on Election Day than on Christmas Eve, the Friday after Thanksgiving, or St. Patricks day. Saudi Arabia's marks the 1932 unification of the country. On U.S. Election Day, A Look At How Others Vote : NPR Politicians, most recently House Democrats in 2019, have also floated the idea of turning a weekday Election Day into a federal holiday, but to no avail. It's a reminder of turmoil of the last century a very short span in historical terms and how deeply its events influence the world today. Elections are federal holidays in Singapore, which, when combined with mandatory voting, resulted in a voter turnout of 93.6% for the 2015 election of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. History of Election Day Rather than make it a national holiday where inevitably people will still have to work, change election day to election week. Voter turnout in the U.S. is generally quite low, trailing behind that of other developed democracies around the world, according to another Pew study. 25, 2016, Chris Talgo, "Make Election Day a National Holiday? Presidential and semipresidential systems, Constituencies: districting and apportionment. Vote.org has called on Amazon, Disney, McDonald's and others to offer paid time off for employees to vote and or work the polls. Make election day a national holiday : r/WhitePeopleTwitter - reddit People literally cannot get to the polling booth because it may close at 7 o'clock and they're working later. Election Day (United States) - Wikipedia CBS News reporter covering climate change and energy. And I think on Election Day we should have a national holiday which says, 'you don't have to rush to vote.' Would Making Election Day a Federal Holiday Boost U.S. Voter Turnout Theyare still considerably higher than in the United States, which typically sees about 65% on average turn out to vote for major elections. Have you experienced an election day in another country, or do you know how voting works in a place we haven't mentioned here? Ralph Northam signed into law a measure that, among other things, makes Election Day a state holiday in the commonwealth. It would take an act of Congress to make Election Day a national holiday, and there is currently a bill proposing to designate "Democracy Day" as a national election holiday before a special committee. Whether election day in the United States should be made a national holiday is debated. Maybe that could give us some hint as to the frequent foreign sensitivities and accusations, right or wrong, about Western foreign policy echoing old colonial practices. The United States is out of step with the rest of the world: elections are held on weekends in 27 of the 36 OECD countries. A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. Interestingly, 27 of the 36 countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (made up largely of advanced democracies) conduct their national elections on the weekend. Mr. CHRISTENSEN: One of the biggest countries that uses compulsory voting is Australia. Is Election Day a federal holiday? It's Time to Make Election Day a National Holiday (Once - HuffPost [ 17] Countries such as France, Mexico, and India also observe federal holidays for elections. Given this, an Election Day holiday would remove a significant barrier to participation for relatively well-to-do potential voters while doing little to make voting easier for a significant. Is Election Day a national holiday? These people think it should be Why Election Day Should Be A National Holiday In America Consider this: Even if Election Day were moved to a weekend or turned into a national holiday, retail and service industry employees would still need to work. Corrections? So, workers having a day off to vote wouldn't be a disruption to the economy, or anything a citizen of our country could deny would be worthwhile and smart thing to do. The bill would also effectively revive Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which requires states with a history of voter discrimination have all changes to their election laws approved by the federal government, updating the law in response to the Supreme Courts 2013 holding in Shelby County v. Holder. By Monday morning, nearly 60 million had already voted early across the country, closing in on half of 2016's total voter turnout. This is why election day is not a holiday in Canada - blogTO Some countries, about 27 of them, make voting compulsory. 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. First Sunday of October. The Freedom to Vote Act would make Election Day a national holiday. Read More, Election Day is a holiday in Puerto Rico. (And in case youre curious, November was chosen as the month for similar reasons: It was after fall harvest was over but before the cold winter weather set in.). Updates? The U.S. ranks 26th out of 32 for voter among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. In Thailand, one of the very few countries outside of Europe that was never formally colonized, the king's birthday is celebrated (don't insult him or you might go to jail, per the lese majeste laws). Some countries, about 27 of them,make voting compulsory. According to Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus, Australia adopted compulsory voting in 1924 after turnout there dropped to less than 60 percent in 1922. But experts say improving voter turnout is a complicated issue that no single silver bullet strategy can solve. ", Obama: "Absolutely. Others have suggested making Veterans Day (Nov. 11), which is already a paid national holiday, Election Day. 1. National Days around the world | Office Holidays A surprising map of the worlds national holidays (only two countries have no national day), Belarus sentences Nobel Peace laureate Ales Bialiatski to 10 years in jail, This is Bidens chance to press Scholz on Germanys rearmament, Why Russia and Ukraine are fighting over Bakhmut. 1. Executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation & Research David Becker argues that increasing turnout is a nuanced problem that can't be fixed by declaring a holiday. States such as Georgia and Iowa already have passed restrictive measures and many others appear poised to do the same thing. Some businesses may close, but their hourly paid employees will either have to use a PTO day or not get paid.. 3. 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 1845, when Congress established a national election day, it had to be a Tuesday because farmers went to church on Sunday, went to market on Wednesday, and may have needed a day, Monday, to get to their polling place, Gil Troy an American presidential historian and McGill University professor told HuffPost. With those options early in-person voting and more voter awareness on how to vote by mail voter turnout appears to be trending upward. 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. Many Americans know that Election Day is a Tuesday, but few know why. Whether accurate or not, elected officials likely think that making it easier to vote would advantage one party at the expense of the other party.. The U.S. lags scores of other countries in election participation, ranking 26th out of 32 nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), according to the Pew Research Center. According to the Pew Research Center, of the thirty-six nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the U.S. is one of nine that votes on a week day, and one of seven that doesn't designate election day a national holiday. 5 Reasons Election Day Should Be a National Holiday - Global Citizen Why Isn't Election Day A National Holiday In The United States? - HuffPost https://www.britannica.com/question/Should-election-day-be-made-a-national-holiday. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. Is Election Day a Federal Holiday? - Newsweek Because the impact of a federal holiday is far-reaching, many states and workplaces would likely follow suit. Furthermore, making this small shift would celebrate the purpose and sacrifice of our fighting forces.
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