Last Tuesday was election day in the United States, and this year we voted in the midterm elections. Meanwhile, in Macedonia this past September, voters chose to stay away from the polls because of the proposed name change for the country. [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. These include national, state, and local government representatives at all levels up to the president. 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. Reformers will be far more successful adding a few days or options or opportunities than trying to undo Election Day.. Unlike Singapore, South Korea and Israel, Canada has not declared election days as public holidays. Because of the pandemic, more U.S. voters are exploring alternatives to voting on Election Day, such as early voting and mail-in voting. 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). Like Perez, Becker thinks giving voters more time and opportunity to vote is the best approach. A lot of people go to work, or they're in school during the weekday. 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. Tuesday was selected because it was the most convenient. As for Denmark, it has a national liberation day and some people celebrate international worker's day, but neither is a public holiday. For federal offices (president, vice president, and United States Congress) and most gubernatorial offices (all except for . First published on October 26, 2020 / 10:57 AM. Election Day is a US State Holiday observed on several states on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every even-numbered year. Why Election Day Should Be A National Holiday In America US voter turnout trails most developed countries. I am from Malta - a tiny EU island nation and today we celebrate the shipwreck of St. Paul on our island. 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. Again, it is not clear that this is demonstrably true but it is a widespread perception. Maybe Making Election Day a National Holiday Wouldn't Really Work [28][29], Patagonia, an outdoor clothing retailer, paused operation on Nov. 6, 2018 so that all employees could vote. [17] Countries such as France, Mexico, and India also observe federal holidays for elections. / CBS News. Read more: The evolution of American voting rights in 242 years shows how far we've come and how far we still have to go. Where Is Election Day a Holiday? - Ms. Magazine Fourth Sunday of October immediately before the end of the current mandates.
Community Funeral Home Beulaville,
The Man In The Storm Short Response,
Dumpster Diving Tasmania,
Carbon Monoxide Detector Beeping After Replacing Battery,
Jeff Vandergrift Net Worth,
Articles C