countries where election day is a national holiday countries where election day is a national holiday

Most others are not so recent, but still not so old: Taiwan's, for example, goes back to a 1911 uprising. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. America is walking the knifes edge between maintaining and losing democracy. The founding fathers at first only granted white, male property owners the right to vote, so the expansion of voting rights has taken some time. Veterans Day typically is about one week after Election Day so this would involve little disruption in terms of job schedules and monthly routines. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. Managing Editor As Congress continues to grapple with voting rights legislation this week, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has used his considerable influence as the Senates key swing vote to set the terms of the debate. [10][11]] Stay up to date with what you want to know. For starters, the United States is rather unique in that it schedules its election day on a weekday, let alone a Tuesday. And it will, in turn, help strengthen the idea that businesses can and will come together for a worthy common purpose: protecting our democracy by empowering all American workers to be good citizens. [30], Solutions such as automatic voter registration, same-day registration, early voting, no-excuse absentee voting, restoring voting rights to former felons, improved civics education, and voter outreach would all improve voter participation more reliably than a national holiday. Approximately two million people who work for the federal government would be given a paid day off, and private companies might follow suit. That means the stock market will be open, and so will. - Vincent Hutchings, a University of Michigan political science professor, - Gil Troy, American presidential historian, 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, Joaquin Corbalan / EyeEm via Getty Images, as travel and communication improved in the 19th century, being too busy or having a conflicting schedule, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, substantially increase the cost of running elections, move that would make it easier for Americans to vote, The types of workers least likely to reap the benefits. For other uses, see. Early voting for the midterms varies by state. American election laws have been reformed before with minimal impact on voter turnout which remains low compared to other democracies around the world. Proponents say the Electoral College ensures everyone selects the president. Elections Held on Tuesdays?, britannica.com (accessed Sep. 30, 2019), Evan Andrews, "Election 1010: Why Do We Vote on a Tuesday in November?, history.com, Aug. 31, 2018, Grace Panetta and Olivia Reaney, "Today Is National Voter Registration Day. "Election Day should be a national holiday so that everyone has the time and opportunity to vote," Sanders' website reads. Election Day is observed on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, taking place on November 7 this year. First published on October 26, 2020 / 10:57 AM. Election Day is always the first Tuesday after November 1st. [ 18][ 19] Con 1 the Tuesday that occurs within November 2 to November 8. In some of these countries, voting is compulsory, and in most of them, Election Day is a holiday. Again, it is not clear that this is demonstrably true but it is a widespread perception. And I think on Election Day we should have a national holiday which says, 'you don't have to rush to vote.' Not all of these marked the end of colonialism (for example, Austria's signifies the withdrawal of foreign militaries after World War II and the declaration of neutrality) but the vast majority do. Start the discussion over on our Facebook page, and let us know about civic engagement in your town, state, or country! "And we actually have more options than ever before.". Usually Wednesday. Last Tuesday was election day in the United States, and this year we voted in the midterm elections. Younger generations are also more likely to participate in political discussions online, which shows that a move towards digitizing the political and voting processes may not be too far off. Declaring Election Day a holiday has been proposed various times in Congress; it's a popular idea. [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. Fourth Sunday of October immediately before the end of the current mandates. Georgia grassroots groups helped Biden win. Runoffs take place on the last Sunday of the same October. Election Day is already a holiday for state employees in more than a dozen states including Kentucky, Michigan, and New York. In the US, Election Day is not a national holiday. as well as other partner offers and accept our. First Sunday of October. Senator Bernie Sanders has certainly tried heintroducedthe "Democracy Day Act" in 2018, which proposed making Election Day a federal holiday. TOP QUESTION 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. Election Day isn't a national holiday in the US, but some people think it should be. For more information on how to vote, head over to our TurboVote module. "Election Day as a national holiday would mean things like perhaps reduced schedules for public transportation, schools being closed, hourly workers perhaps being incentivized to work more with time and a half. 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. However, rules, dates and deadlines vary by state, which can be confusing to some voters. "[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. Third Monday of October every four years, or after Parliament is dissolved by the. 26K views, 1.2K likes, 65 loves, 454 comments, 23 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Citizen TV Kenya: #FridayNight A number of bills like the Weekend Voting Act have been proposed in Congress over the years, often by Democrats. 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. Meanwhile, in Macedonia this past September, voters chose to stay away from the polls because of the proposed name change for the country. Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. 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. Most of these 19 states' policies only cover general elections, though. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://www.procon.org/headlines/election-day-national-holiday-top-3-pros-and-cons/, potential benefits and difficulties of changing election day, election day should not be a national holiday. 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. But in many other countries, the government automatically registers voters and holds elections on days that are weekend days or national holidays. It worked. They stated, Citizen Day would do more than give our democracy the honor that it deserves; it would help our democracy work better. Topics Explainers Politics US Evergreen US Explainers YOU MIGHT LIKE [31][32] Trying one of these alternatives would avoid the negative economic impact of closing businesses for Election Day. History of Election Day The Freedom to Vote Act would make Election Day a national holiday. Voter turnout in the United States is usually considered low, especially in years without a presidential election. Congress would shore up the peoples right to vote while guaranteeing the time to engage in this fundamental right. So when faced with choices like having to take unpaid time off work to vote, waking at the wee hours of the morning to vote so that they're not late to work, standing in hours-long lines with everyone else who waited until after the workday to cast their ballot, or simply not voting at all, many choose the latter. So far this year, hundreds of bills have been introduced that could have the effect of suppressing peoples right to vote. In an interview with President Barack Obama in 2016, Dan Corey, editor-in-chief of Rutgers University's official student newspaper, The Daily Targum, asked Obama about what could be done to reverse the US's low voter turnout: The Daily Targum: "You have pointed out many times that voter turnout in the United States is very low, especially compared to other developed nations. If so, how? In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections are always held on a weekday. Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. He thinks the increased options afforded by early and mail-in voting could be undermined by making Election Day a holiday, creating "a solution in search of a problem.". 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." And even a number of the blue countries, such as Australia and Canada, are actually the product of colonialism. The US isn't the only developed country that faces this criticism, however. I'll look into this some more and may change it on the map. 1. 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. Today in my country it is a national holiday as we celebrate the day when St. Paul converted our whole country to Catholicism in AD 60. More people would vote if they had more time to cast their ballots Furthermore, celebrating our democracy publicly would send the message that we value each others citizenship as much as we value honoring past presidents. [13], Donald Green, PhD, Burgess Professor of Political Science at Columbia University, found that nonpartisan community parties celebrating Election Day in 2005, 2006, and 2016 increased voter participation between 2.6 percentage points and about 4 percentage points. This is partially due to the influence of Protestantism, which historically set restrictions on activities other than church-going during the Sabbath (usually considered as falling on a Sunday). South Korea and Israel hold theirs during the week, but have made the day a federal holiday. As old as all of these societies are, their senses of national identity are commemorated by remarkably recent events. Without this simple step toward turning out as many Americans as possible to vote, any reform will be incomplete. Election Day in the United States of America is the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. Lists national days around the world by country or date. [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. And. Sunday: the second Sunday of March for Congress, and the second Sunday of May for President and Vice President. 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. 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. As for Denmark, it has a national liberation day and some people celebrate international worker's day, but neither is a public holiday. Many other democracies make election day a holiday and they all have higher voter turnout than we do. We're familiar with how voting works in the U.S.when we vote, how we vote, who we vote forbut do you know what voting is like in other countries around the world? 3. The earliest possible date that Election Day can fall on is November 2nd, and the latest possible date is November 8th. In 2018, the general election was held on Wednesday. Instead, lawmakers could simply move nearby Veterans Day to Election Day, emphasizing that voting is both a service to the country and a celebration of the rights and freedoms for which our servicemembers fight. Disclaimer: Dates and Events correct at time of printing but may change without our knowledge. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. Right now, federal elections are always held on Tuesdays, because farmers in the 1840s needed multiple days to get to the . Explore which countries have weekend voting with Pew Research. List two to three ways. This . Virginia joined these states in April this year. 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 in conjunction with other strategies like automatic voter registration (nearly 87% of registered voters participated in the 2016 election), restoring voting rights for formerly incarcerated people and removing other barriers such as voter ID requirements and voter roll purges that often disenfranchise people of color. [4][5], The United States currently has 10 national holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Christmas Day. 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. [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. WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - Election Day should be a holiday for workers in the United States, President Joe Biden said on Thursday. After all, what do our veterans fight for, if not for democracy itself? [1], An election day usually culminates in an election night when the results of the election are tallied and winners are announced.[2]. Britain, after all, developed its political institutions pretty gradually, so there was no real "Bastille Day" moment that defines the modern nation. If Election Day were a national holiday, how would you ensure hourly and low-income workers would get a chance to vote? To make Election Day a national holiday, it would take an act of Congress, and so far, no bills proposing such action have passed. [20][21][22] A part-time hourly worker is more likely to have multiple jobs, none of which are likely to offer time off for a national holiday. "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons." "If I had my way, and I think it is really important, every . Twenty-seven of the 36 member countries, hold their elections on the weekend. The bill would also effectively revive Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which requires states with a history of voter discrimination have all changes to their election laws approved by the federal government, updating the law in response to the Supreme Courts 2013 holding in Shelby County v. Holder. (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.). 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. 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. US voter turnout trails most developed countries. Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters. It happens to be on the day the politicians themselves get elected. The correct answer is B. Advertisement Advertisement marberman marberman The pros and cons of the felon voting debate include arguments about the social contract, voting while in prison, and paying debts. But none of those states have considerably high turnout compared to those where it isn't a holiday. 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. Even people youd expect to know, like politicians, have been stumped by this very question. Maybe that could give us some hint as to the frequent foreign sensitivities and accusations, right or wrong, about Western foreign policy echoing old colonial practices. [25], According to the AFL-CIO, 30 states require employers to allow employees time off for voting. 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. There are some exceptions; as Wednesday was not covered by the available dates, the Netherlands holds elections on Thursday, while Denmark holds elections on Sunday. By law, polling day is a public holiday if it falls on a weekday. 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.