According to Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus, Australia adopted compulsory voting in 1924 after turnout there dropped to less than 60 percent in 1922. The COVID-19 pandemic convinced. 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,". This map, inspired by a Reddit thread with a similar map, shows the national days of the world's countries. Others have suggested making Veterans Day (Nov. 11), which is already a paid national holiday, Election Day. 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. 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. Should the United States Use the Electoral College in Presidential Elections? Issues also arise when a persons polling place is far from their workplace or when there are long lines to vote during peak times like in the morning before work or in the evening after work. In the United States, it varies from state to state and even county to county, so the idea that one entire country might use the same voting method is actually pretty unique to Americans! Monday in early September. Russia's national holiday only goes back to 1992, when the Russian Federation was founded. 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. 5. In the 2016 election, only 56% of voting-age Americans cast their ballots. 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. 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. Regional Belgian public holidays during 2023. "We already know how to make voting convenient to voters that's by offering them options, like making an election season rather than election day," he said. With just about six in 10 voters turning out to vote in the U.S., some civil rights advocates are arguing that it's about time to give Americans the day off to vote. [12], The idea that voting should be a celebration, not a chore is one argument for turning Election Day into a national holiday, according to Archon Fung, PhD, and Jane Mansbridge, PhD, professors at the Harvard Kennedy School. October 26, 2020 / 10:57 AM These numbers also may be indicative of higher turnout for major elections, but may not reflect engagement in local or regional elections. And that election saw the second highest voter turnout in 20 years. Tuesday is Election Day, but only in some parts of the country will voters get the day off to cast their ballots. [8], Among registered voters in the 2016 US presidential election, being too busy or having a conflicting schedule was the third-highest reason cited for not voting, accounting for 14% of registered voters who did not cast a vote (about 2.7 million people). 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. 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%. A number of bills like the Weekend Voting Act have been proposed in Congress over the years, often by Democrats. Read more: You can take time off from work to vote in 30 states here's the full list. ], ProCon.org, "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons,", ProCon.org, "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons. Think about it. [2] Sundays were for rest and worship, and on Wednesdays farmers typically sold their crops at the market, making Tuesdays the best day of the week. Election Day is a state holiday in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York. [1], Over time, voting rights expanded from only white, male landowners age 21 and older to include women and people of color, as well as citizens age 18 and up, resulting in a dramatic increase in the voting-eligible population and a shift in voter demographics. 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. Congress would shore up the peoples right to vote while guaranteeing the time to engage in this fundamental right. Canada's turnout is about the same as the United States', with an average of 68%, and though one canton in Switzerland has a compulsory voting law, for the country as a whole turnout is around 49%, one of the lowest rates in OECD countries. Skip Navigation 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. Here are the four things I found interesting about this once as I mapped it out: 1) Yes, most of the world was shaped by colonialism. 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. Explore which countries have weekend voting with Pew Research. 1. Declaring Election Day a holiday has been proposed various times in Congress; it's a popular idea. Exact date set by the. Pew also found that certain issues motivate voters more than others: "health care, poverty and education are the top motivators for political engagement." [31][32] Trying one of these alternatives would avoid the negative economic impact of closing businesses for Election Day. [24] Holidays usually mean more work hours for retail workers, because stores run promotions and sales. As you can see, the world is mostly divided between countries that celebrate a national independence day and countries that celebrate a national unification or revolution day. 2. Think about that: In most of the world, the sense of national identity is shaped by the act of cutting, or in some cases violently throwing off, the chains of colonialism. NOW WATCH: Arianna Huffingtons advice to Hillary Clinton, the majority of US states have voter leave laws, You can take time off from work to vote in 30 states here's the full list, voted during the 2016 presidential election, experts say such a scheme is unlikely to fly in the US, The evolution of American voting rights in 242 years shows how far we've come and how far we still have to go, In an interview with President Barack Obama in 2016. History of Election Day [27], Companies including Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Farmers Insurance, Kaiser Permanente, Patagonia, and Walmart have joined Make Time to Vote campaign, which encourages employers to provide paid time off, schedule no meetings on Election Day, and give information on mail-in ballots and early voting. Making Election Day a holiday would not necessarily involve adding a new holiday, which employers might resistparticularly following the addition of Juneteenth as a national holiday last week. As for Denmark, it has a national liberation day and some people celebrate international worker's day, but neither is a public holiday. Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. For more on the debate about making election day a national holiday, visit ProCon.org. Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. 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. 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. 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. Establishing Election Day as a holiday, taken together with the pending federal voting rights reforms, would go a long way towards stabilizing democracy and ensuring basic democratic rights. First published on October 26, 2020 / 10:57 AM. OK, so why Tuesday? Rather than make it a national holiday where inevitably people will still have to work, change election day to election week. Presidential and semipresidential systems, Constituencies: districting and apportionment. Explain your answers. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? [23], Annie McDonald, Editor of the Berkeley Public Policy Journal, noted that the workers who are least likely to get paid holidays are those who already have less of a voice in the political process: Americans working in retail, hospitality, and service jobs, for example, would most likely not receive the benefit of a paid holiday to vote. An ordinary act of Congress could move Election Day to a Saturday or make it a holiday, thereby giving more people more . Most recently, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont proposed a bill to designate "Democracy Day" as a national election holiday, which sits before a special committee. In an interview published Thursday, President Obama endorsed the idea of holding U.S. federal elections on weekends or national holidays. 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. For federal offices (president, vice president, and United States Congress) and most gubernatorial offices (all except for . A lot of people go to work, or they're in school during the weekday. ", Obama: "Absolutely. And. procon@eb.com, 2022 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Saudi Arabia's marks the 1932 unification of the country. [14], Pew Research Center found that 71% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans support making Election Day a federal holiday. Operated 24:7 through the week. Third Monday of October every four years, or after Parliament is dissolved by the. In 2005, the American Bar Association looked at a few different methods of voting: in 1989 in Namibia, voters marked an X on ballots using ink on their fingers; in Bulgaria, rather than marking a ballot, voters pick from any number of sheets of paper representing specific political parties and puts it in a ballot box; and in Ireland, "they designate their top three candidates by numbering them 1, 2, and 3." Democracy on the ballot will the remaining election deniers succeed? 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. 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. Should People Who Have Completed Felony Sentences Be Allowed to Vote? Twenty-seven of the 36 member countries, hold their elections on the weekend. as well as other partner offers and accept our. 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. Sign up for notifications from Insider! Most others are not so recent, but still not so old: Taiwan's, for example, goes back to a 1911 uprising. States such as Georgia and Iowa already have passed restrictive measures and many others appear poised to do the same thing. Image 2. [26] Caravanas are joyful, noisy parades of cars festooned with flags and other decorations that stream through Puerto Ricos streets ahead of an election and are credited with the islands over 80% voter turnout. Thats not to say no one has tried. Roughly 138 million Americans voted in the 2016 presidential election, just 61.4% of the 214,109,360 million who were registered to vote, according to The U.S. Election Assistance Commission.