Name: Why Isn't Election Day A National Holiday In The U.S.?
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Why Isn't Election Day A National Holiday In The U.S.?

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×U.S. EditionPart of HuffPost Home &amp; Living. ©2022 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.×Many Americans know that is a Tuesday, but few know why. Even people you’d expect to know, , have been stumped by this very question. 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. Before that point, states could hold their presidential elections on any day . But this arrangement began to raise concerns : Results from states that voted earlier could sway the outcome in states that voted later.AdvertisementOK, so ? Keep in mind that in the mid-1800s, the U.S. was largely an agricultural society. Tuesday was chosen because it was most convenient for farmers traveling by horse and buggy at the time. “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,” — an American presidential historian and McGill University professor — told HuffPost. (And in case you’re curious, November was chosen as the month for similar reasons: It was over but before the cold winter weather set in.) But these days, Tuesdays are actually quite inconvenient for many Americans, particularly those who can’t to cast their ballots — a problem that disproportionately affects and .AdvertisementIn the 2016 presidential election, 14% of registered voters cited “” as the main reason they didn’t cast their ballots, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data. In previous elections, that . Issues also arise when a person’s polling place is or when there are long lines to vote during peak times — like in the morning before work or in the evening after work. Voter turnout in the U.S. is generally quite low, behind that of other developed democracies around the world, according to another . In the 2016 election, only 56% of voting-age Americans 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.”- Vincent Hutchings, a University of Michigan political science professorInterestingly, 27 of the 36 countries that are members of the (made up largely of advanced democracies) on the weekend. South Korea and Israel hold theirs during the week, but have made the day a federal holiday. AdvertisementBecause of the pandemic, more U.S. voters are exploring Election Day, such as and . However, rules, dates and deadlines , which can be confusing to some voters. One major reason: It comes down to tradition, Troy said.That’s not to say no one has tried. A number of bills — like the — have been proposed in Congress over the years, often by Democrats. But they never go far and . AdvertisementPlus, some experts say moving to weekend voting could . “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, .Politicians, most recently , have also floated the idea of turning a weekday Election Day into a federal holiday, but to no avail. A 2018 Pew survey found that the 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. Advertisement“It is very, very hard to change core American traditions.”- Gil Troy, American presidential historianOthers have (Nov. 11), which is already a paid national holiday, Election Day.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 — . While some states have (though it primarily ) and most have laws that require companies to give , none of the legislative efforts to enact these changes on a national level have been successful. It’s hard to say. In theory, it seems that any would increase participation. But experts say improving voter turnout is a that no single can solve. AdvertisementCountries that have weekend or holiday elections do tend to have better turnout overall. However, those numbers may be — not solely because their elections occur on non-work days.Consider this: Even if Election Day were moved to a weekend or turned into a national holiday, employees would still need to work. “ of a federal holiday are those who already struggle to vote,” Shineman noted.Such a change would mostly instead of the lower-income workers it’s designed to help. Advertisement“If you make election day a federal holiday, you’ll have all the people who work in these types of jobs still having to work, being inundated with customers who have the day off and they won’t have child care because the schools will be closed,” Suzanne Lucas, who previously worked in human resources, wrote . “Some businesses may close, but their hourly paid employees will either have to use a PTO day or not get paid.” 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 like (nearly participated in the 2016 election), restoring voting rights for and removing other barriers such as and voter roll purges that often disenfranchise people of color. 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×U.S. EditionPart of HuffPost Home &amp; Living. ©2022 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.×Many Americans know that is a Tuesday, but few know why. Even people you’d expect to know, , have been stumped by this very question. 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. Before that point, states could hold their presidential elections on any day . But this arrangement began to raise concerns : Results from states that voted earlier could sway the outcome in states that voted...

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Kelsey Borresen

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Why Isn't Election Day A National Holiday In The U.S.?

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