26 th January (Republic Day), 15 th August (Independence Day) and 2 nd October (Gandhi Jayanti). The United States has held federal elections on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years since 1845. Why Election Day Should Be A National Holiday Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. Proponents say the Electoral College ensures everyone selects the president. In Sweden, for example, 83% of registered voters participated in the 2014 national . After all, what do our veterans fight for, if not for democracy itself? 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. Early voting for the midterms varies by state. In a number of states, polling places have been closed in minority neighborhoods, which has created long lines and tremendous inconvenience for affected votersinconvenience with a cost, especially for those paid hourly wages. Sign up to receive a weekly email update on forthcoming public holidays around the world in your inbox every Sunday. Election results only announced for 1 of Nigeria's 36 states It would take an act of Congress to make Election Day a national holiday, and there is currently a bill proposing to designate "Democracy Day" as a national election holiday before a special committee. 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. Some countries, including Belgium and Turkey, see such high voter turnout mainly because of their compulsory voting laws. Others have suggested making Veterans Day (Nov. 11), which is already a paid national holiday, Election Day. Especially given that 65% of Americans support making election day a national holiday and 43% of voters already live in one of the 19 states with some form of voting holiday. [4][5], The United States currently has 10 national holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Christmas Day. Last modified on October 1, 2020. February 26, 2023, 5:06 AM. This year, Election . Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey agrees. Is Election Day a national holiday? Why you don't get the day off [8], In the 2016 presidential election, 55.7% of the American voting-age population cast a ballot. Is Election Day a Federal Holiday? - Newsweek It's amazing how much of the map is green, indicating countries that celebrate a national independence day every year. Some countries use electronic voting machines, such as India, while others rely on paper ballots, such as Zimbabwe. Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? Obama Expresses Support For Making Election Day A National Holiday 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. Countries like Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico also showed high voter turnout rates by having holidays. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard Election day should be a national holidayCommentary - CNBC Election Day - Tuesday, Nov. 8 - is a special day, with voters casting ballots across the country. Should Election Day be a national holiday? And that election saw the second highest voter turnout in 20 years. ", "National Electoral Code Article 53 and 148", Report of the 2014 National Lawyers Guild Bolivian Election Observation Delegation, Voting hours for elections in EU Member States, "The Parliamentary Electoral System in Denmark", Consultation Report on Review of Electoral Arrangements, "India Elects 2019: The World's Largest Election, Explained", "Six Nations match at the centre of row over election date - Independent.ie", "With full term possible, Netanyahu may outlast Ben-Gurion (and Obama)", Confessionalism and Electoral Reform in Lebanon, "Voters reminded not to reveal voting intention at Sunday's polling", "Malaysia's election on a Wednesday favors PM, opposition says", "Elections in Mexico and the US: Comparisons and contrasts", "Law on Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament", "Election Days General Elections 1853-2011", "The main features of the Norwegian electoral system", "Tribunal Electoral de Panam convoca a elecciones generales de 2024", "Peru Can Give U.S. Sunday. John M. Cunningham, "Why Are U.S. 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. The Evolution of American Voting Rights in 242 Years Shows How Far Weve Come -- and How Far We Still Have to Go, businessinsider.com, Sep. 24, 2019, University of Houston Digital History, "Agriculture, digitalhistory.uh.edu (accessed Sep. 24, 2019), USDA, "Ag and Food Sectors and the Economy, ers.usda.gov, Sep. 20, 2019, Legal Information Institute, "5 U.S. Code 6103. ", Obama: "Absolutely. "With the variety of challenges that election officials face, [making Election Day a holiday] is well down on the list of those things that need to be addressed," Becker said. And I think on Election Day we should have a national holiday which says, 'you don't have to rush to vote.' the Tuesday that occurs within November 2 to November 8. #FridayNight | #FridayNight | By Citizen TV Kenya - Facebook Why isn't Election Day a national holiday in the US? - KHOU 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. 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. "Election day should be a national holiday" is a claim of policy because we are discussing a policy which searches a solution for the presented argument. - 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? Countries outpacing the U.S. include the U.K, Mexico and Canada. 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. Last week his office released a list of voting rights provisions he would support. Election Day should be a national holiday - The GW Hatchet Pro/Con Arguments | Discussion Questions | Take Action | Sources | More Debates, Election Day in the United States has occurred on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November ever since President John Tyler signed an 1845 law establishing a specific voting day for the entire country. Where Is Election Day a Holiday? - Ms. Magazine This is why election day is not a holiday in Canada - blogTO 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%. [1], An election day usually culminates in an election night when the results of the election are tallied and winners are announced.[2]. The Freedom to Vote Act would make Election Day a national holiday. It can fall on or between November 2 and November 8. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 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. Of these countries, 27 hold their national elections on a weekend. Portugal celebrates the 1580 death of celebrated national poet Luis de Camoes, Spain celebrates Columbus Day (yes, the holiday is a little controversial there as well, although not as much as in the U.S.), the Netherlands celebrates the queen's birthday but it still use her mother's birthday for the date and, in Greenland, the celebrate the longest day of the year. And. It is very, very hard to change core American traditions.. Today in my country it is a national holiday as we celebrate the day Have you experienced an election day in another country, or do you know how voting works in a place we haven't mentioned here? In 2007, the country held the world's first general Internet election. Twenty-seven of the 36 member countries, hold their elections on the weekend. The US isn't the only developed country that faces this criticism, however. 3. In many other democracies around the world, national elections are held on the weekend or are a federal holiday. "We should be making it easier for people to vote, not harder. 0:00. Make election day a national holiday : r/WhitePeopleTwitter - reddit We are very proud that we are mentioned in the Bible. Regional Belgian public holidays during 2023. According to the Pew Research Center, of the thirty-six nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the U.S. is one of nine that votes on a week day, and one of seven that doesn't designate election day a national holiday. Why Isn't Election Day A National Holiday In The United States? - HuffPost Tuesday is Election Day, but only in some parts of the country will voters get the day off to cast their ballots. We are the only advanced democracy that makes it deliberately difficult for people to vote. A surprising map of the world's national holidays (only two countries After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? Maybe Making Election Day a National Holiday Wouldn't Really Work One major reason: It comes down to tradition, Troy said. Lessons in How to Hold Elections", "GE2015: First time Polling Day falls on a Friday, but not first time polls held on a weekday", "180/2014 Z.z. Election Day should be a 'day off,' U.S. President Joe Biden says Mail-in voting starts 1 month before polls open. The result is voter turnout rates of 72.3% and 77.2% respectively, which is 26-32% higher than the United States. All this despite the fact that these types of restrictions have typically been considered illegal under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires that elections be equally open to all people. Granderson: Why aren't Democrats making election day a state holiday An additional day off school would prove to be problematic for individuals who may not have other readily accessible forms of childcare. [24], People who have already suffered significant disenfranchisement, such as women and people of color, are more likely to be working those low-income jobs that wouldnt get the time off to vote even on a national holiday. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. 3. Voter turnout in the United States is usually considered low, especially in years without a presidential election. Should the United States Use the Electoral College in Presidential Elections? Managing Editor 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. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. In the 2016 presidential election, 14% of registered voters cited being too busy or having a conflicting schedule as the main reason they didnt cast their ballots, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data. "[Early and at-home voting] helps prevent bottlenecks for election administrators because it 'flattens the curve' for when ballots are cast by large numbers of voters," Perez said. 4) The outliers are few but tell you a lot about those . But these days, Tuesdays are actually quite inconvenient for many Americans, particularly those who cant take time off work to cast their ballots a problem that disproportionately affects Black, Latino and lower-income voters. 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. 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. Election Day is already a holiday for state employees in more than a dozen states including Kentucky, Michigan, and New York. "If I had my way, and I think it is really important, every .