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Explain your answers. 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. The COVID-19 pandemic convinced. 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. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Most of these 19 states' policies only cover general elections, though. It worked. So, since this effort does not receive bipartisan support, it is difficult to enact.. And that election saw the second highest voter turnout in 20 years. 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. 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. Stay up to date with what you want to know. For more on the debate about making election day a national holiday, visit ProCon.org. Canada's turnout is about the same as the United States', with an average of 68%, and though one canton in Switzerland has a compulsory voting law, for the country as a whole turnout is around 49%, one of the lowest rates in OECD countries. 2. Democratic rights are much easier to end than they are to restore, so the federal government must respond to the wave of voter suppression overtaking the states with decisive, expansive action. Do you think it's time for the US to follow their lead? Office Holidays provides calendars with dates and information on public holidays and bank holidays in key countries around the world. This year, Election . To make Election Day a national holiday, it would take an act of Congress, and so far, no bills proposing such action have passed. So the question of how you label Ireland goes back to which holiday you consider its national day. 1, which adds a new paid holiday for federal employees every other year. [31]. [3] In 1800, 83% of the American labor force was agrarian, but today only 11% of total US employment is agriculture-related. A National Day is a date for a country to celebrate its nationhood. Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. Pew also found that certain issues motivate voters more than others: "health care, poverty and education are the top motivators for political engagement." In Switzerland, only one canton (or member state) requires voting; it is voluntary all other cantons of the country. But experts say improving voter turnout is a complicated issue that no single silver bullet strategy can solve. The U.S. is one of only nine member nations that have weekday voting. 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. Change often comes slowly, subtly. Is Election Day a national holiday? Why you don't get the day off Should the United States use the Electoral College in presidential elections? "Election Day should be a national holiday so that everyone has the time and opportunity to vote," Sanders' website reads. He concluded that having an election holiday, by itself, is not an effective strategy to increase voter turnout. [34], Automatic voter registration, by contrast, could register an additional 22 million people and create 7.9 million new voters nationwide within a year. Many other democracies make election day a holiday and they all have higher voter turnout than we do. According to Pew Research data, US voter turnout trails most developed countries. 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. These include national, state, and local government representatives at all levels up to the president. People literally cannot get to the polling booth because it may close at 7 o'clock and they're working later. Election Day as a holiday is something that exists in other countries, but not in most places in the U.S. It's an issue that comes up a lot, but never really gets much serious public debate. [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. In-person polls open Sunday at 12:01am, close Saturday at 11:59pm. 3. However, for the most part, most countries vote in person at the voting booth, and while countries may alter the length of election periods andthe equipment used in voting from election to election, it still tends to have many of the same features. 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. Traditionally elections are held over two days, starting on a Friday afternoon and ending the following Saturday afternoon. Russia's national holiday only goes back to 1992, when the Russian Federation was founded. There's nothing that would stop voters here from treating a Democracy Day like just another day off.". Early voting for the midterms varies by state. Explain your answer. Why Election Day is on a Tuesday in November in the U.S. | Pew Research From 2021, the first Sunday of June. Puerto Rico's voter turnout has gone as high as 80 . That means the stock market will be open, and so will. Traditionally on weekends. Of the nonvoters surveyed by the US Census Bureau about the 2008 presidential election, the 2012 presidential election, and numerous other elections, the most commonly cited reason for not voting was being too busy or having conflicting work schedules. In many other democracies around the world, national elections are held on the weekend or are a federal holiday. 4) The outliers are few but tell you a lot about those countries. ELECTION DAY - November 7, 2023 - National Today Presented by:Defense Language and National Security Education Office, 60% of the eligible voting population vast a vote, looked at a few different methods of voting. As for Denmark, it has a national liberation day and some people celebrate international worker's day, but neither is a public holiday. Opponents say it allows only a few states to select the president. 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. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Britain, after all, developed its political institutions pretty gradually, so there was no real "Bastille Day" moment that defines the modern nation. February 26, 2023, 5:06 AM. 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. On U.S. Election Day, A Look At How Others Vote : NPR These numbers also may be indicative of higher turnout for major elections, but may not reflect engagement in local or regional elections. 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. "We already know how to make voting convenient to voters that's by offering them options, like making an election season rather than election day," he said. It would give people time to vote. 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. It can fall on or between November 2 and November 8. A simple but effective change, however, could be made in election timing. 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. Rose Marcario, CEO, stated, demonstrating your companys commitment to voting will reinforce how essential it is that every eligible voter shows up. Senator Bernie Sanders has certainly tried heintroducedthe "Democracy Day Act" in 2018, which proposed making Election Day a federal holiday. Start the discussion over on our Facebook page, and let us know about civic engagement in your town, state, or country! However, some countries, or regions within a country, which hold elections on a weekday declare election day a public holiday. 2 men found drugged after leaving NYC gay bars were killed, medical examiner says, Battleground Tracker: Tight race in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Lindsey Graham appears before Georgia grand jury, House Jan. 6 committee is having conversations with Justice Department, Georgia grand jury investigating Trump wants testimony from Giuliani, Graham, Trump election interference grand jury to hear from Raffensperger, DHS IG says Wolf changed intel report on Russian interference in 2020.