And that enabled us to essentially fill our needs of staffing the elections. 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. Caravans are joyful, noisy parades of cars festooned with flags and other decorations that stream through the streets ahead of an election and are credited with the islands over 80 percent turnout. WebAt the opening of Congress this past January, House Democrats introduced a proposal to make Election Day a national holiday. That, to me,is the real answer, she says. [18][19], Federal law doesnt require private employers to give employees paid federal holidays. Election Day could be made a holiday if a bill were passed by the House and Senate then signed into law by the president. The answer dates back to 1845, when Congress passed a law declaring that federal elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. If you feel you have received this message in error, please contact the customer support team at 1-833-248-7801. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? WebMaking election day a holiday might seem to have very few drawbacks, but because many of the people who would actually benefit from the holiday are unlikely to even be able to Sweden came second with 82.6%. In the 2016 presidential election, 14% of registered voters cited being too busy or having a conflicting schedule as the main reason they didnt cast their ballots, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data. Top Issues for Voters. Tina Barton, a Republican Rochester Hills City Clerk has a lot of those questions, and more. Should Election Day be a national holiday? America is walking the knifes edge between maintaining and losing democracy. 2020, Virginia. WDET is here to keep you informed onessential information, news and resources related to COVID-19. Countries that have weekend or holiday elections do tend to have better turnout overall. Effectiveness depends on the region. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson wants to make Election Day a holiday in Michigan. Last modified on April 13, 2020. Election Day Holiday., For purposes of any law relating to Federal employment, the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in 2020 and each even-numbered year thereafter shall be treated in the same manner as a legal public holiday described in section 6103 of title 5, United States Code., It is the sense of Congress that private employers in the United States should give their employees a day off on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in 2020 and each even-numbered year thereafter to enable the employees to cast votes in the elections held on that day., Leave it to a House bill-writer to use 98 words when eight will suffice: Were giving you the day off to vote.. Who wants more of the people who think professional wrestling is real or that 9/11 was an inside job to help pick the next president? Waste of money. But making Election Day a holiday because you want to increase voter turnout? Her ideas include requiring a statewide risk-limiting audit of an elections results before the state certification,giving clerks more time ahead of Election Day to process ballots and banning open carry of firearms within 100 feet of polling locations. 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. Instead of having the names spelled out, voters would pick between Oje Diben and Noladd Rumpt.. It was a modern record for the Peach State. Many states have already declared National Election Day a civic holiday, which is an occasion to commemorate America's history, celebrate our rights and responsibilities as citizens, and learn about our constitutional ideals. If Election Day is a national holiday, would that mean the post office would be closed, she asked. However, making National Election Day a holiday will disadvantage low-income and blue-collar workers. National Election Day would make a 13th and it would only be observed once every four years and would help ensure voters could avoid the stresses of time constraints and other factors that hinder their ability to vote. An additional day off school would prove to be problematic for individuals who may not have other readily accessible forms of childcare. [24], People who have already suffered significant disenfranchisement, such as women and people of color, are more likely to be working those low-income jobs that wouldnt get the time off to vote even on a national holiday. Lets assume there wont be an election holiday anytime soon not until Democrats control both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. Pro/CON: Should Election Day be a federal holiday The types of workers least likely to reap the benefits of a federal holiday are those who already struggle to vote, Shineman noted. It deals with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and laws. [7] A handful of states have made election day a state holiday, including New York, Hawaii, Kentucky, and, in Apr. But would such a change turn out the voters Democrats covet most? COLUMN: Point Counterpoint: There are pros and cons Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? Make Election Day a national holiday - Brookings These efforts challenge fundamental values of American democracy and constitute a serious threat to the one person, one vote principle. But thats not guarantor of a higher turnout. Automatic Voter Registration Advertisement. Explore which countries have weekend voting with Pew Research. People of color and low-income Americans already face barriers to vote, and making Election Day a national holiday may not help them. Without this simple step toward turning out as many Americans as possible to vote, any reform will be incomplete. Proponents say teens are knowledgeable enough to vote. For example, one may suggest, if we observe Election Day as a national holiday, then we will be unable to adequately staff and secure polling venues, or worse; it would negatively impact government spending. there are more pros than cons with regard to observing Election Day as a federal holiday. If 118 million people did it in 2018 without a holiday, why do we need to shut down the post office and close the banks to get them to do it again? (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';fnames[4]='MMERGE4';ftypes[4]='date';fnames[6]='MMERGE6';ftypes[6]='text';fnames[5]='MMERGE5';ftypes[5]='date';fnames[3]='MMERGE3';ftypes[3]='date';fnames[7]='MMERGE7';ftypes[7]='date';fnames[8]='MMERGE8';ftypes[8]='zip';fnames[9]='MMERGE9';ftypes[9]='radio';fnames[10]='MMERGE10';ftypes[10]='text';fnames[11]='MMERGE11';ftypes[11]='text';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true); Your connection to news, music, conversation. The idea that voting should be a celebration, not a chore is one argument for turning Election Day into a national holiday. Mallory McMorrow (@MalloryMcMorrow) February 3, 2021. Freedom to Vote Act https://www.hoover.org/profiles/bill-whalen, federal holiday. Making weekday elections a national holiday is a popular idea that would align the US with other countries. Explain your answer. 2020, Virginia. In its last two presidential elections (2015 and 2010) turnout was 55% 5% less than the 2016 vote in the U.S. Switzerland also votes on weekends. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. For example, Australia typically has a turnout in the 90 percent or more range, and other nations such as Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico achieve very high turnout via universal voting and time off for voting. Move Voting to Veterans Day - Politico 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. Whether the voter has to go to office or has an important meeting, they may not be able to find any excuse to miss the voting procedure if election day is declared as a national holiday. No: Too Inconvenient, Early-Voting Options Ample, orlandosentinel.com, Nov. 5, 2018, Henry Farber, "Increasing Voter Turnout: Is Democracy Day the Answer?, princeton.edu, Feb. 2009, Sarah Issenberg, "The Mystery of the Puerto Rico Voter, slate.com, Jan. 27, 2012, Paul LeBlanc, "Virginia Governor Makes Election Day a Holiday and Expands Early Voting,". 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. Election Day At the heart of the debate is voter turnout give more people the day off, more people will go out of their way to head to the polls. Dont believe me? Litigation pending before the Supreme Court this term in Brnovich v. DNC, however, threatens to undermine this rule. Additionally, many of these individuals rely on school days as childcare for their children. Other solutions would more reliably increase voter turnout than a national holiday. He concluded that having an election holiday, by itself, is not an effective strategy to increase voter turnout. [34], Automatic voter registration, by contrast, could register an additional 22 million people and create 7.9 million new voters nationwide within a year. Winds light and variable.. Making Election Day a national holiday will increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote. ProCon.org. This comes with complications that non-blue states might not like like allowing provisional ballots to be counted, a vote-counting that can be painfully slow (it takes California over a month to certify statewide election results). The idea of combining Veterans Day with National Election Day has been brought up for debate, but that doesnt make much sense. This is a stressful, insecure time for many. Political science is the scientific study of politics. The US ranks 26th out of 32 for voter turnout for Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Pro/Con Arguments | Discussion Questions | Take Action | Sources | More Debates, Election Day in the United States has occurred on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November ever since President John Tyler signed an 1845 law establishing a specific voting day for the entire country. 25, 2016, Chris Talgo, "Make Election Day a National Holiday? According to the U.S. Census Bureaus data on nonvoters, registered voters from households making more than $150,000 are most likely to say they dont have time to turn out on Election Day. First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. It would also blunt the impact of many of these baldly anti-democratic movesopening the doors to the house as Republicans attempt to shut the windows. Have you looked at who theyre voting for? Lets look at why Congress has never made Election Day a This past year, we were able to make it work through sports teams and other businesses that stepped up, gave their employees the day off, made it a holiday internally, says Benson. Okun's son is mentioned in this Incidentally, Australia routinely reaches more than 90 percent voter turnout, compared to the United States, where average voter turnout in presidential elections since 1965 has been only 54%. . Creating laws in all states that let people vote before or after work would be more effective than a holiday. That nations turnout in 2017s national election was only 46%(you want to get the Swiss fired up, put a contentious idea in front of them a vote vote tojoin the EEA in 1992brought out 79%; the 2016 vote todeport foreign criminals, 63%). Useful for voters who are still indecisive. Georgia had the 12th-highest turnout in the country in 2018, with 57% participation. Some businesses may close, but their hourly paid employees will either have to use a PTO day or not get paid.. A part-time hourly worker is more likely to have multiple jobs, none of which are likely to offer time off. [36]. ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. I also take umbrage with the idea that people who dont vote are doing something wrong. Hey, you know who really has high voter turnout? Cheyna has interned with Michigan Radio and freelanced for WKAR public radio in Lansing. 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. If a right-wing cabal really is running a secret, suppress-the-vote operation, its the most inept conspiracy since Jussie Smollett and the Subway Sandwich Scam. Copyright 2022 by WDET and Wayne State University. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Could that ever happen in the U.S.? 3. For more information on how to vote, head over to our TurboVote module. [1] The decision was made taking into account farmers, a large portion of the voting constituency at the time, who would not have been able to travel to polling places in winter months or during planting or harvest times. 20, 2018, Annie McDonald, "Ensuring Access to Election Day for All, bppj.berkely.edu, Nov. 6, 2018, Suzanne Lucas, "No, Election Day Should Not Be a Federal Holiday, inc.com, Oct. 24, 2016, Kenneth Quinnell, "Know Your Rights: State Laws on Employee Time off to Vote, aflicio.org, Nov. 5, 2016, Osita Nwanevu, "Maybe Making Election Day a National Holiday Wouldnt Really Work, slate.com, Nov. 3, 2016, Abigail Hess, "A Record 44% of US Employers Will Give Their Workers Paid Time off to Vote This Year, cnbc.com, Oct. 31, 2018, Make Time to Vote, homepage, maketimetovote.org (accessed Sep. 24, 2019), Rose Marcario, "Time to Vote, patagonia.com, Sep. 24, 2018, Danielle Root and Liz Kennedy, "Increasing Voter Participation in America, americanprogress.org, July 11, 2018, Kelly Born, "Increasing Voter Turnout: What, If Anything, Can Be Done?, ssir.org, Apr. 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Many Americans know that Election Day is a Tuesday, but few know why. procon@eb.com, 2023 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. It is very, very hard to change core American traditions.. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. In many other democracies around the world, national elections are held on the weekend or are a federal holiday. This year, more than 30 million Americans had already voted two weeks before todays Election Day an electoral surge never seen before. The dream of busy voting booths is the goal of House Democratic legislation to make Election Day a [+] federal holiday. Bartons concerns about the possible unintended consequences of an Election Day holiday haveled a Democratic sponsor of legislation to create the holiday to reconsider her bill. Managing Editor Colleges should have already canceled Election Day classes. This article was published on October 1, 2020, at Britannicas ProCon.org, a nonpartisan issue-information source. Making Election Day a national holiday will disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers. Or is it an optimistic idea that would exclude already disadvantaged voters while failing to increase turnout? On WDETs Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson, Benson emphasized that making Election Day a holiday would make it easier toattractmore election workers. (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.). While there are a lot of positives to creating a new national holiday, there are also some negatives. In Texas, for instance, the deadline to register to vote for the Is that really an improvement? Many other democracies make election day a holiday and they all have higher voter turnout than we do. If changes need to be made nationally, those changes should relate to job security and compensation. The U.S. ranks 26th out of 32 for voter among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. Election Day be a National Holiday in the U.S This simple change would make it easier for 2. 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. That year, just over 36% of eligible voters showed up. But they never go far and die in committee without a vote. The United States currently has 10 national holidays, includingMemorial Day,Independence Day, andChristmas Day. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. In California, for example, theres now permanent voting by mail(voters can also go on line, after theyve submitted their ballot, to see if theyve been processed). The question remains: is such a holiday good public policy? Pew Research Center found 71 percent of Democrats and 59 percent of Republicans support that. Other solutions would more reliably You know what else they have? However, a national primary day is a recipe for failure. WebElection Day could be made a federal holiday if a bill were passed by the House and Senate then signed into law by the president. our colleagues on the other side, on their campaigns.. The second Trump vote could reach those levels. Approximately two million people who work for the federal government would be given a paid day off, and private companies might follow suit. Should the United States Use the Electoral College in Presidential Elections? Jake Neher is senior producer for Detroit Today and host of MichMash for 101.9 WDET. Election Day Holiday.. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. US Political Parties. See the pros and cons of declaring Election Day a holiday across the nation. and our They stated, Citizen Day would do more than give our democracy the honor that it deserves; it would help our democracy work better. Is there any veracity to what this dude is claiming? Last modified on October 1, 2020. National Election Day rolls around every four years and falls on the first Tuesday in November. By registering through a routine and necessary transaction such as those at the DMV, voters wont have to worry about registration deadlines or application submissions. Election Day could be made a federal holiday if a bill were passed by the House and Senate then signed into law by the president. Really? Funding by lobbyists is a big problem. If not, youre out. Holidays, law.cornell.edu (accessed Sep. 30, 2019), Matthew Haag, "Mitch McConnell Calls Push to Make Election Day a Holiday a Democratic Power Grab," nytimes.com, Jan. 31, 2019, Drew DeSilver, "U.S. Trails Most Developed Countries in Voter Turnout, pewresearch.org, May 21, 2018, Gustavo Lpez and Antonio Flores, "Dislike of Candidates or Campaign Issues Was Most Common Reason for Not Voting in 2016, pewresearch.org, June 1, 2017, Beau C. Tremitiere, "Election Day Should Be a National Holiday, cnbc.com, July 5, 2016, York Dispatch Editorial Board, "Editorial: On Voting, GOP Takes a Holiday from its Senses, yorkdispatch.com, Feb. 1, 2019, Tacey Rychter, "How Compulsory Voting Works: Australians Explain," nytimes.com, Nov. 5, 2018, Archon Fung and Jane Mansbridge, "Lets Vote, Party and Celebrate American Democracy on a New Holiday Called Citizen Day, usatoday.com, Oct. 26, 2018, Thomas MacMillan, "This Might Be the Best Idea for Turning out More Voters in U.S. Elections, nymag.com, July 8, 2017, Drew Desilver, "Weekday Elections Set the U.S. apart from Many Other Advanced Democracies, pewresearch.org, Nov. 6, 2018, Kathy Frankovic, "St. Patricks Day Not So Popular - Americans Would Rather Election Day a Holiday, today.yougov.com, Mar. Bensons proposal would make Election Day a state holiday, not a national holiday. would align the US with other countries What are the pros and cons of making Election Day a national a list of voting rights provisions he would support, Congress in 2019: The need for bipartisan action on voting rights and election integrity, Voting rights, the next Attorney General, and a less divided America, Republicans in 48 states have introduced 389 bills, Generational change divides GOP, unites Democrats. The proposal to make Election Day a federal holiday is just one of a number of steps that could be taken to improve low turnout for U.S. elections. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Protections for individuals with disabilities: The bill would address some of the biggest challenges to voting access that Americans with disabilities face. Count me out. A National Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. However, those numbers may be attributed to a combination of factors not solely because their elections occur on non-work days. South Korea and Israel hold theirs during the week, but have made the day a federal holiday. 13 . Voter suppression policies need to be reversed, starting with restoring the pre-clearance provisions of the Civil Rights Act. This would actually make it even easier and validate businesses to give their employees the day off so that they can work the elections and serve as election workers. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.