This . Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. But while experts say such a scheme is unlikely to fly in the US, making it easier for people to vote would appear to be a step in the right direction. Voter turnout in the United States is usually considered low, especially in years without a presidential election. To make Election Day a national holiday, it would take an act of Congress, and so far, no bills proposing such action have passed. The founding fathers at first only granted white, male property owners the right to vote, so the expansion of voting rights has taken some time. Making the presidential election a national holiday is another way to get people to the polls. 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. And even a number of the blue countries, such as Australia and Canada, are actually the product of colonialism. These include national, state, and local government representatives at all levels up to the president. Russia's national holiday only goes back to 1992, when the Russian Federation was founded. Election Day is a US State Holiday observed on several states on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every even-numbered year. In Australia, all citizens of age to vote are required, and if they fail to do so, they face fines. Election Day in the United States is the annual day for general elections of federal public officials.It is statutorily set by the U.S. government as "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November", i.e. The U.S. House of Representatives just passed H.R. Essential reporting and analysis from correspondents around the world. But some think it should be. 14, 2019, BBC, "Singapore Election: Governing Party Secure Decisive Win, bbc.com, Sep. 12, 2015, Holly Jackson, "It's Time to Make Election Day a Holiday in Law and Spirit," washingtonpost.com, Oct. 22, 2018, BCP Associates, "India Elections 2019 - Declaration of Paid Holiday on Polling Day, bcpassociates.com, Apr. 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 designateelection day a national holiday. Democracy on the ballot will the remaining election deniers succeed? Traditionally on weekends. Explain your answer. Currently, 22 countries around the world have mandatory voting, and ten of those countries enforce the policy, including Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Peru, and Switzerland. 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 is very, very hard to change core American traditions.. Because Saturday and Sunday are Sabbath days for devout Jews and Christians, elections would probably have to be held over the two-day period creating a need for more poll workers and a process for securing ballots overnight, Victoria Shineman, a University of Pittsburgh political science professor, wrote in The Washington Post. President Obama likes the idea of changing the way or the day Americans vote. 3. John M. Cunningham, "Why Are U.S. These changes would send a strong rebuke to those who are attempting to scale back voting rights and make it more difficult for African-Americans and Latinos to vote. List two to three ways. Consider, for example, the national days of France and Germany: the former marks the French revolution, in 1789, and the latter marks the German reunification in 1990. Unlike Singapore, South Korea and Israel, Canada has not declared election days as public holidays. Litigation pending before the Supreme Court this term in Brnovich v. DNC, however, threatens to undermine this rule. Presidential and semipresidential systems, Constituencies: districting and apportionment. Rose Marcario, CEO, stated, demonstrating your companys commitment to voting will reinforce how essential it is that every eligible voter shows up. Part of HuffPost Home & Living. Sign up to receive a weekly email update on forthcoming public holidays around the world in your inbox every Sunday. The US ranks 26th out of 32 for voter turnout among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Americans are working all the time. 4. The bill has no cosponsors, but the concept was supported by every 2020 Democratic candidate for president, excluding Mike Bloomberg and now-nominee Joe Biden. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. It would give people time to vote. Update: Some readers think that Ireland should also be considered an outlier, as St. Patrick's Day is often considered its primary "national day" and is not really an independence or revolution day. Election Day in the United States of America is the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. There are many ways to boost voter turnout expanding early voting, automatically registering voters, and improving civic education programs . In 2018, the general election was held on Wednesday. Disclaimer: Dates and Events correct at time of printing but may change without our knowledge. "Voting is a fundamental right,. 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. [24] Holidays usually mean more work hours for retail workers, because stores run promotions and sales. Should Election Day be a national holiday? Delaware Hawaii Kentucky Louisiana Montana New Jersey New York Ohio Puerto Rico Virginia West Virginia While Tuesdays have been custom for elections in the United States, Sunday is the day of. South Africa's is from the first democratic elections, in 1994. The types of workers least likely to reap the benefits of a federal holiday are those who already struggle to vote, Shineman noted. Elections Project, which is close to the complete voter . National and Festival Holiday Act, which is applicable to all establishments in the country, irrespective of under which law it is formed it is mandatory to grant leave on following 3 days, i.e. [8], In the 2016 presidential election, 55.7% of the American voting-age population cast a ballot. Runoffs take place on the last Sunday of the same October. Monday in early September. 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. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections are always held on a weekday.However, some countries, or regions within a country, which hold elections on a weekday declare election day a public holiday. Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters. Lists national days around the world by country or date. Last modified on October 1, 2020. In theory, it seems that any move that would make it easier for Americans to vote would increase participation. (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.). ", "An overall look at Vietnam's election law", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Election_day&oldid=1136894393. Explain your answers. - 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. Elections to the Bundestag may be held on another public holiday. [6] Election Day could be made a holiday if a bill were passed by the House and Senate then signed into law by the president. Additionally, many of these individuals rely on school days as childcare for their children. Some businesses may close, but their hourly paid employees will either have to use a PTO day or not get paid.. Election Day is a state holiday in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York. Why or why not? Read More, Election Day is a holiday in Puerto Rico. https://www.britannica.com/question/Should-election-day-be-made-a-national-holiday. Corrections? These changes would send the message that voting is not a privilege to be bought with job security and time to spare, but rather an essential responsibility every person ought to undertake. Start the discussion over on our Facebook page, and let us know about civic engagement in your town, state, or country! 1, which adds a new paid holiday for federal employees every other year. As old as all of these societies are, their senses of national identity are commemorated by remarkably recent events. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Washington's Birthday Memorial Day Flag Day Independence Day Constitution Day Election Day Veterans Day Bill of Rights Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King, Jr. Day takes place on third Monday of January each year, near the time of Dr. King's birthday on January 15th. To paraphrase one of the commenters on the Reddit thread, is certainly is ironic that the British empire that is indirectly responsible for so many of the world's independence days has no real national day of its own. Election Day - Tuesday, Nov. 8 - is a special day, with voters casting ballots across the country. Let us make it as easy as we can," Sanders told CBS News. For more information on how to vote, head over to our TurboVote module. 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. Georgia grassroots groups helped Biden win. [7] A handful of states have made election day a state holiday, including New York, Hawaii, Kentucky, and, in Apr. These efforts challenge fundamental values of American democracy and constitute a serious threat to the one person, one vote principle. Countries like Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico also showed high voter turnout rates by having holidays. And so while it's very understandable that people are trying to find ways to make it more convenient for people to vote, it's very likely that Election Day as a national holiday would actually hurt the voters who most need more options," Becker said. Other countries take heroic efforts to ensure that people can vote if they desire. [25], According to the AFL-CIO, 30 states require employers to allow employees time off for voting. First Sunday of October. 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. Last week his office released a list of voting rights provisions he would support. 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. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. November 7, 2023. A National Day is a date for a country to celebrate its nationhood. ProCon.org. But experts say improving voter turnout is a complicated issue that no single silver bullet strategy can solve. Research has found that higher trust in the government and democratic process leads to greater voter turnout. 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. Whether election day in the United States should be made a national holiday is debated. ", Obama: "Absolutely. 11 July (Tuesday): Celebration of the Golden Spurs (Day of the Flemish Community) - celebrates the victory of the count of Flanders and the borough militia against the king of France outside Courtrai. Below are the proper citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): the Modern Language Association Style Manual (MLA), the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian). Without this simple step toward turning out as many Americans as possible to vote, any reform will be incomplete. But they never go far and die in committee without a vote. Last Tuesday was election day in the United States, and this year we voted in the midterm elections. Operated 24:7 through the week. Election Day is always the first Tuesday after November 1st. [1], An election day usually culminates in an election night when the results of the election are tallied and winners are announced.[2]. Such low voter turnout rates in the United States have various reasons why many Americans decide not to vote, but one main reason is not giving them time to vote and cast their ballots. 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.. Most others are not so recent, but still not so old: Taiwan's, for example, goes back to a 1911 uprising.