Saturday, but can be any day of the week, such as when a Saturday conflicts with a holiday. Four more states only provide time off for biennial, even-year elections: Delaware, Louisiana, Michigan and New Hampshire. For more on the debate about making election day a national holiday, visit ProCon.org. 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. Politicians, most recently House Democrats in 2019, have also floated the idea of turning a weekday Election Day into a federal holiday, but to no avail. First Sunday of October. Election day is a national holiday. Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. Skip Navigation As for Denmark, it has a national liberation day and some people celebrate international worker's day, but neither is a public holiday. During the 2016 presidential election, less than 56% of the estimated voting-age population in the US voted. the Tuesday that occurs within November 2 to November 8. [16]. [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. But in many other countries, the government automatically registers voters and holds elections on days that are weekend days or national holidays. Granderson: Why aren't Democrats making election day a state holiday One major reason: It comes down to tradition, Troy said. But experts say improving voter turnout is a complicated issue that no single silver bullet strategy can solve. 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. The types of workers least likely to reap the benefits of a federal holiday are those who already struggle to vote, Shineman noted. Why not make Election Day a national holiday? - CBS News The U.S. ranks 26th out of 32 for voter among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. And I think on Election Day we should have a national holiday which says, 'you don't have to rush to vote.' What if Election Day were a holiday? - USA TODAY As a holiday, that means several millions of people would have the day off from work or school, making it way . For more information on how to vote, head over to our TurboVote module. Do you think it's time for the US to follow their lead? 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. 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! 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. Because of the pandemic, more U.S. voters are exploring alternatives to voting on Election Day, such as early voting and mail-in voting. 1. The correct answer is B. Advertisement Advertisement marberman marberman These changes would send the message that voting is not a privilege to be bought with job security and time to spare, but rather an essential responsibility every person ought to undertake. And some countries, like Australia, require people to vote by subjecting those who don't to a minor fine equivalent to a traffic ticket. Is Election Day a national holiday? Why you don't get the day off This map, inspired by a Reddit thread with a similar map, shows the national days of the world's countries. Russia's national holiday only goes back to 1992, when the Russian Federation was founded. [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. Consider the pandemic, which has not given essential workers more time off. The answer dates back to 1845, when Congress passed a law declaring that federal elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. 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. Countries like Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico also showed high voter turnout rates by having holidays. It worked. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Newsela | Should Election Day become a national holiday? A National Day is a date for a country to celebrate its nationhood. Is Election Day a national holiday? Why you don't get the day off While countries like Belgium, Sweden, and Turkey saw more than 80% of their estimated voting-age population cast votes in recent elections, less than 56% of the estimated voting-age population. 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. Such low voter turnout rates in the United States have various reasons why many Americans decide not to vote, but one main reason is not giving them time to vote and cast their ballots. Below are the proper citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): the Modern Language Association Style Manual (MLA), the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago), the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian). Before that point, states could hold their presidential elections on any day within a certain 34-day window. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. 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. Unlike Singapore, South Korea and Israel, Canada has not declared election days as public holidays. Understanding what happened in the Chicago mayoral race. Election dates are determined by the General Elections Commission (Indonesian: Typically on a Friday, but precise date set by, Municipal, provincial, and regional elections take place on a Sunday, as do elections for the. 0:00. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? 14, 2019, BBC, "Singapore Election: Governing Party Secure Decisive Win, bbc.com, Sep. 12, 2015, Holly Jackson, "It's Time to Make Election Day a Holiday in Law and Spirit," washingtonpost.com, Oct. 22, 2018, BCP Associates, "India Elections 2019 - Declaration of Paid Holiday on Polling Day, bcpassociates.com, Apr. Currently, 22 countries around the world have mandatory voting, and ten of those countries enforce the policy, including Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Peru, and Switzerland. Litigation pending before the Supreme Court this term in Brnovich v. DNC, however, threatens to undermine this rule. Read More, Election Day is a holiday in Puerto Rico. Traditionally elections are held over two days, starting on a Friday afternoon and ending the following Saturday afternoon. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. The U.S. House of Representatives just passed H.R. In previous elections, that percentage was even higher. A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. People literally cannot get to the polling booth because it may close at 7 o'clock and they're working later. Election Day in USA in 2023 | Office Holidays However, the issues vary among different demographic groups. Election officials in various states have predicted historic levels of turnout in 2020, with a chance to reach the highest ever. 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 Research Center. For rest of the festival holidays the declaration . While countries like Belgium, Sweden, and Turkey saw more than 80% of their estimated voting-age population cast votes in recent elections, less than 56% of the estimated voting-age population in the US voted during the 2016 presidential election. / CBS News. That means the stock market will be open, and so will. Third Monday of October every four years, or after Parliament is dissolved by the. It's amazing how much of the map is green, indicating countries that celebrate a national independence day every year. Others have suggested making Veterans Day (Nov. 11), which is already a paid national holiday, Election Day. 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. Voter turnout in the U.S. is generally quite low, trailing behind that of other developed democracies around the world, according to another Pew study. For example, Australia typically has a turnout in the 90 percent or more range, and other nations such as Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico achieve very high turnout via universal voting and time off for voting. "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. We also know that countries that have marked their election days as federal events see higher voting turnouts than the United States. [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. 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. 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. Will the party listen to them on the issues? 0:58. 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. 4) The outliers are few but tell you a lot about those . Whether election day should be made a national holiday is debated. But some think it should be. Without this simple step toward turning out as many Americans as possible to vote, any reform will be incomplete. According to the country's website detailing their "digital society," online voting has soared from 1.9% in 2005 to 30.5% in 2015. On U.S. Election Day, A Look At How Others Vote : NPR ELECTION DAY - November 7, 2023 - National Today Keep in mind that in the mid-1800s, the U.S. was largely an agricultural society. Is Election Day a Holiday in Your State? | RepresentUs Sweden came second with 82.6%. Not only would making Election Day a federal holiday increase voter turnout among Americans, which is something that politicians and citizens in general complain about often, but it . Britain, after all, developed its political institutions pretty gradually, so there was no real "Bastille Day" moment that defines the modern nation. Is Election Day a Federal Holiday? - Newsweek [4][5], The United States currently has 10 national holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Christmas Day.