Turning Election Day into a national holiday would instill a sense of pride in all citizens, knowing they have the ability to cast a ballot regardless of work. The pros and cons of the felon voting debate include arguments about the social contract, voting while in prison, and paying debts. Elections to the European Parliament take place over a period of four days (i.e., Thursday through to Sunday), according to the election days of the EU members states (as listed above). Estonia is the only country to fully adopt online voting, but other countries, such as Australia, Canada, and Norway, have looked into pursuing it as an option in the future. Most of these 19 states' policies only cover general elections, though. (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.). For more on the debate about making election day a national holiday, visit ProCon.org. ", Others, however, are skeptical that creating a national holiday would increase voter turnout. [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. [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. ELECTION DAY - November 7, 2023 - National Today [6] Election Day could be made a holiday if a bill were passed by the House and Senate then signed into law by the president. Make Election Day a national holiday - Brookings The U.S. is one of only nine member nations that have weekday voting. Senator Bernie Sanders has certainly tried heintroducedthe "Democracy Day Act" in 2018, which proposed making Election Day a federal holiday. This map, inspired by a Reddit thread with a similar map, shows the national days of the world's countries. In-person polls open Sunday at 12:01am, close Saturday at 11:59pm. I'll look into this some more and may change it on the map. To look through the stats for voter turnout for other countries, you can visit the website for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and explore the data. Change often comes slowly, subtly. And that election saw the second highest voter turnout in 20 years. It is set by statute as "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November.". Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. This article is about the general term "election day" worldwide. According to Pew Research data, US voter turnout trails most developed countries. In 2007, the country held the world's first general Internet election. Topics Explainers Politics US Evergreen US Explainers YOU MIGHT LIKE Election Day should be a national holiday - The GW Hatchet House Democrats introduced their first piece of legislation in the new Congress this week, an anti-corruption bill that proposes making Election Day a federal holiday and encourages . If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position. To combat these efforts, lawmakers nationally have introduced HR1 (the John Lewis Act) and S1, which would enact a number of important provisions: improve ballot access, create nonpartisan redistricting commissions to reduce gerrymandering, provide automatic voter registration when people turn 18, allow at least 15 days of early voting,mandate that presidential candidates disclosure their federal tax returns, and require greater disclosure of so-called dark money campaign contributions. US voter turnout trails most developed countries. 5. Voters in more than one-third of the country enjoy some form of an Election Day holiday, according to RepresentUs. 26K views, 1.2K likes, 65 loves, 454 comments, 23 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Citizen TV Kenya: #FridayNight Should Election Day Be a Holiday? - The Atlantic In the 2016 presidential election, 60% of the eligible voting population vast a vote; this year, a staggering 47.5%participated in the midterms, compared to 37% in 2014 and 41% in 2010, the years of other midterm elections. About 54 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots in the 2012 presidential contest between Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, according to the Pew Research Center. And the empire has been pretty consistently breaking apart over the last half century Scotland is maybe next so it's not like there is a national unification to celebrate. 0:00. I am from Malta - a tiny EU island nation and today we celebrate the shipwreck of St. Paul on our island. The name change required at least 50% voter participation, and opponents to the name change advocated not voting at all rather than voting against the measure. Sunday: the second Sunday of March for Congress, and the second Sunday of May for President and Vice President. as well as other partner offers and accept our. [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. 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. Elections to the Bundestag may be held on another public holiday. Consider this: Even if Election Day were moved to a weekend or turned into a national holiday, retail and service industry employees would still need to work. Examine this opinion article from Evil HR Lady Suzanne Lucas on why election day should not be a national holiday. Rather than make it a national holiday where inevitably people will still have to work, change election day to election week. And. John M. Cunningham, "Why Are U.S. Additionally, many of these individuals rely on school days as childcare for their children. Georgias voter suppression bill is an assault on our democracy, Republicans in 48 states have introduced 389 bills, Tracking regulatory changes in the Biden era. Hailey said the country needs a "cultural shift" to prioritize voting. History of Election Day In Sweden, for example, 83% of registered voters participated in the 2014 national . Skip Navigation 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. 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 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. Delaware Hawaii Kentucky Louisiana Montana New Jersey New York Ohio Puerto Rico Virginia West Virginia While Tuesdays have been custom for elections in the United States, Sunday is the day of. Vote.org has called on Amazon, Disney, McDonald's and others to offer paid time off for employees to vote and or work the polls. However, making National Election Day a holiday will disadvantage low-income and blue . Election Day is a state holiday in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York. $4+ Billion Cost To Give Federal Employees A New Paid Holiday - Forbes [31]. Why Election Day Isn't a National Holiday in the US - Business Insider Why isn't Election Day a national holiday yet? - CNN First Sunday of July until 2018. A surprising map of the worlds national holidays (only two countries have no national day), Belarus sentences Nobel Peace laureate Ales Bialiatski to 10 years in jail, This is Bidens chance to press Scholz on Germanys rearmament, Why Russia and Ukraine are fighting over Bakhmut. In many other democracies around the world, national elections are held on the weekend or are a federal holiday. In Thailand, one of the very few countries outside of Europe that was never formally colonized, the king's birthday is celebrated (don't insult him or you might go to jail, per the lese majeste laws). Virginia joined these states in April this year. 22 June 1986, 29 October 1989, 6 June 1993, 3 March 1996, 12 March 2000, 14 March 2004, 9 March 2008, 20 November 2011, 20 December 2015, 26 June 2016. 1. Other countries may only require it of certain people, and otherwise make it voluntary for others. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. Other politicians, businesses, and advocacy groups have voiced their approval of celebrating Election Day as a national holiday. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. 12, 2019, Ceylan Pumphrey, "Do Businesses Have to Give Federal Holidays Like Presidents Day Off?, blogs.findlaw.com, Feb. 14, 2018, Department of Labor, "Holiday Pay, dol.gov (accessed Sep. 23, 2019), Peggy Emch, "Is Holiday Pay Required by Law?, timesheets.com, 2013, Fast Casual, "Study: Why Hourly Workers Forced to Work Multiple Jobs, fastcasual.com, Apr. - 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? Learn how and when to remove this template message, Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, 2020 North Macedonian parliamentary election, "THE ELECTORAL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA.