[26] Creating laws in all states that let people vote before or after work would be more effective than a national holiday, which would quickly be viewed as just another day off to enjoy. Should Election Day Be a National Holiday? Should Every Election Day Be A Federal Holiday? - Forbes Top Issues for Voters. In India, for example, a polling place is required within two kilometers (about a mile) of every single person in the country of 1.4 billion. Speaking on MichMash, she explainsthat one of her biggest concerns has to do with the post office. [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. 12 . Whether that be through the mail, or people drop them off in person. 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. (Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg). Pros and Cons of making election day a national holiday Tuesday was chosen because it was most convenient for farmers traveling by horse and buggy at the time. Way too many Americans are voting already. [31][32] Trying one of these alternatives would avoid the negative economic impact of closing businesses for Election Day. If Election Day is a national holiday, would that mean the post office would be closed, she asked. Instead of having the names spelled out, voters would pick between Oje Diben and Noladd Rumpt.. Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons - ProCon.org It is very, very hard to change core American traditions which Americans see not only as propping up their democracy but perpetuating its legitimacy, he said. As the chart shows, presidential turnout corresponds with midterm turnout and in 2018, turnout skyrocketed from 36.7% four years previously to 49.6%. 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 expense of the other party, the GOP, said Vincent Hutchings, a University of Michigan political science professor. Winds light and variable. The ideal ballot would have the candidates in one alphabetical list on one side, and the offices they seek on the other. But one idea that could get support and pushback from both sides of the aisle is making Election Day a state holiday. Marshall is an attorney in Washington and Okun is a corporate strategic advisor in Singapore for McLarty Associates. ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. 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, Gil Troy an American presidential historian and McGill University professor told HuffPost. Think of things such as voter ID laws, lowering the voting age, and abolishing the Electoral College. Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. North Korea. Make Election Day a federal holiday. Without this simple step toward turning out as many Americans as possible to vote, any reform will be incomplete. And if they get sick on Monday, the day before the election theyre not trying to get an emergency ballot, or something like that. 2. Should Election Day Be a National Holiday? | ProCon.org Try lower-wage earners at restaurants and stores enterprises that would look to cash in if the working class got an extra day off. 10 . 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. Although state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) says she still supports the idea, but she says Im all-in on an all-of-the-above approach.. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. See the pros and cons of declaring Election Day a holiday across the nation. However, it wasnt until recently that the idea gained any traction in Congress. Move past the theatrics of the government shutdown, impeachment and the threat of investigations ad infinitumand theres the question of Democrat squad goals in a Pelosi-run House of Representatives. 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. 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. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. our colleagues on the other side, on their campaigns.. Republicans and Democrats Move Further Apart in Views of What other improvements could be made to voting and Election Day? Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. But this arrangement began to raise concerns as travel and communication improved in the 19th century: Results from states that voted earlier could sway the outcome in states that voted later. What then to do about American elections? Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard The US ranks 26th out of 32 for voter turnout for Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Make Election Day a national holiday - Brookings Veterans Day typically is about one week after Election Day so this would involve little disruption in terms of job schedules and monthly routines. Explain your answer. However, making National Election Day a holiday will disadvantage low-income and blue-collar workers. According to the AFL-CIO, 30 states require employers to allow employees time off for voting. Furthermore, making this small shift would celebrate the purpose and sacrifice of our fighting forces. While some states have made Election Day a civic holiday (though it primarily applies to public workers) and most have laws that require companies to give employees some time off to vote, none of the legislative efforts to enact these changes on a national level have been successful. What America needs isnt more voters. The dream of busy voting booths is the goal of House Democratic legislation to make Election Day a [+] federal holiday. Heres what the Senate Majority Leader had to say about the notion earlier this week: Just what America needs, another paid holiday and a bunch of government workers being paid to go out and work for I assume . There is one other option: move elections to Saturdays. Partly cloudy skies. Many other democracies make election day a holiday and they all have higher voter turnout than we do. 3. Nationally in 2018, turnout was above 50%, with 35 million more voters than the previous midterm election in 2014. 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). Virginia Gov. If so, how? Not everyone is jumping at the idea of making Election Day a state holiday, however. 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. At the top of his list: making Election Day a national holiday. Passing voting rights reform will be a crucial component of this response, as would making Election Day a national holiday. Other solutions would more reliably [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.

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