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. US voter turnout trails most developed countries. The US ranks 26th out of 32 for voter turnout among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. 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. And that election saw the second highest voter turnout in 20 years. 2 men found drugged after leaving NYC gay bars were killed, medical examiner says, Battleground Tracker: Tight race in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Lindsey Graham appears before Georgia grand jury, House Jan. 6 committee is having conversations with Justice Department, Georgia grand jury investigating Trump wants testimony from Giuliani, Graham, Trump election interference grand jury to hear from Raffensperger, DHS IG says Wolf changed intel report on Russian interference in 2020. Will the party listen to them on the issues? Yet, few of us, especially those who have worked on Capitol Hill, harbor . - Zkon o podmienkach vkonu volebnh", "The Effectiveness of Early Voting A Case Study of the Republic of Korea", "Ley Orgnica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Rgimen Electoral General", "Elections in Venezuela and Pennsylvania: Lessons in Democracy? High turnout means that people are successfully exercising their rights-a good in itselfbut it also ensures the continuing health of majority rule. It was created in 1992,. Experts told CBS News that it's no coincidence this is occurring in a year when Americans have more time and more ways to vote than ever before. 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. 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. [33], Henry Farber, PhD, Hughes-Rogers Professor of Economics at Princeton University, conducted an analysis of states that made Election Day a holiday for state employees. But in many other countries, the government automatically registers voters and holds elections on days that are weekend days or national holidays. History of Election Day In the 2016 election, only 56% of voting-age Americans cast their ballots. Puerto Rico's voter turnout has gone as high as 80 . It commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a reverend and civil . So when faced with choices like having to take unpaid time off work to vote, waking at the wee hours of the morning to vote so that they're not late to work, standing in hours-long lines with everyone else who waited until after the workday to cast their ballot, or simply not voting at all, many choose the latter. Countries outpacing the U.S. include the U.K, Mexico and Canada. Veterans Day typically is about one week after Election Day so this would involve little disruption in terms of job schedules and monthly routines. After all, what do our veterans fight for, if not for democracy itself? Read more: The evolution of American voting rights in 242 years shows how far we've come and how far we still have to go. According to the country's website detailing their "digital society," online voting has soared from 1.9% in 2005 to 30.5% in 2015. Rather than make it a national holiday where inevitably people will still have to work, change election day to election week. I am from Malta - a tiny EU island nation and today we celebrate the shipwreck of St. Paul on our island. - 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. We also know that countries that have marked their election days as federal events see higher voting turnouts than the United States. 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. the Tuesday that occurs within November 2 to November 8. Opponents say it allows only a few states to select the president. While the Republican efforts are shrouded in their supposed desire to protect the integrity of elections, there is no evidence of significant voter fraud in recent elections, including presidential election in 2020. A National Day is a date for a country to celebrate its nationhood. And it will, in turn, help strengthen the idea that businesses can and will come together for a worthy common purpose: protecting our democracy by empowering all American workers to be good citizens. [30], Solutions such as automatic voter registration, same-day registration, early voting, no-excuse absentee voting, restoring voting rights to former felons, improved civics education, and voter outreach would all improve voter participation more reliably than a national holiday. Part of HuffPost Home & Living. If Election Day were a national holiday, how would you ensure hourly and low-income workers would get a chance to vote? And I think on Election Day we should have a national holiday which says, 'you don't have to rush to vote.' So far this year, hundreds of bills have been introduced that could have the effect of suppressing peoples right to vote. Other politicians, businesses, and advocacy groups have voiced their approval of celebrating Election Day as a national holiday. This article is about the general term "election day" worldwide. The correct answer is B. Advertisement Advertisement marberman marberman A simple but effective change, however, could be made in election timing. Election Day - Tuesday, Nov. 8 - is a special day, with voters casting ballots across the country. Essential reporting and analysis from correspondents around the world. Stay up to date with what you want to know. 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. 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. [8][15] A holiday for elections sidesteps the issue of a weekend election, which could conflict with religious obligations. A large Democratic voting rights bill that would have made Election Day a national holiday collapsed in the Senate this year when two senators refused to join their own party in changing. A number of bills like the Weekend Voting Act have been proposed in Congress over the years, often by Democrats. There is a "need to make voting more accessible, to make it more of a civic duty, to make sure that people don't have to choose between their job and their ability to cast the ballot are issues that are more prominent today than ever before," she told CBS News. 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 For more on the debate about making election day a national holiday, visit ProCon.org. 4) The outliers are few but tell you a lot about those countries. Skip Navigation 0:00. Australia sees around 91%, and 94% in Singapore. In Sweden, for example, 83% of registered voters participated in the 2014 national . 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. 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. Here is the relevant passage from Acts 28: First Sunday of October. All rights reserved. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider And some countries, like Australia, require people to vote by subjecting those who don't to a minor fine equivalent to a traffic ticket. Japan formally celebrates the anniversary of an ancient mythical emperor, although the holiday is mostly ignored today, due in part to its connections with Japan's ugly imperial history. Monday in early September. Presidential elections are held every four years, in years divisible by four, while the elections to the . Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York have also made Election Day into a state holiday. By comparison,. During the 2016 presidential election, less than 56% of the estimated voting-age population in the US voted. Some countries, about 27 of them, make voting compulsory. Election Day isn't a national holiday in the US, but some people think it should be. The U.S. House of Representatives just passed H.R. A large Democratic voting rights bill that would have made Election Day a national holiday collapsed in the Senate this year when two senators refused to join their own party in changing. Countries which permit absentee ballots, early ballots or postal votes to be cast by mail before the election avoid the problem altogether by enabling voters to vote on a day that is more convenient to them. Understanding what happened in the Chicago mayoral race. Sign up to receive a weekly email update on forthcoming public holidays around the world in your inbox every Sunday. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? "Election Day as a national holiday would mean things like perhaps reduced schedules for public transportation, schools being closed, hourly workers perhaps being incentivized to work more with time and a half.

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