Estonia is the only country to fully adopt online voting, but other countries, such as Australia, Canada, and Norway, have looked into pursuing it as an option in the future. 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. 2. Part of HuffPost Home & Living. 2020, Virginia. But some election analysts told CBS News that making Election Day a holiday is not a way to make voting easier. 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. History of Election Day In theory, it seems that any move that would make it easier for Americans to vote would increase participation. An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation.Many countries commemorate their independence from a colonial empire.. Not all countries mark independence as 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. In Sweden, for example, 83% of registered voters participated in the 2014 national . Concentrating voters into a single day risks congesting polling places, even more so than some already are. With those options early in-person voting and more voter awareness on how to vote by mail voter turnout appears to be trending upward. Twenty-seven of the 36 member countries, hold their elections on the weekend. Experts told CBS News that it's no coincidence this is occurring in a year when Americans have more time and more ways to vote than ever before. Explain your answer. Currently, 22 countries around the world have mandatory voting, and ten of those countries enforce the policy, including Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Peru, and Switzerland. Countries that have weekend or holiday elections do tend to have better turnout overall. Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. Sunday: the second Sunday of March for Congress, and the second Sunday of May for President and Vice President. Should the United States Use the Electoral College in Presidential Elections? Think of things such as voter ID laws, lowering the voting age, and abolishing the Electoral College. But some think it should be. Many other democracies make election day a holiday and they all have higher voter turnout than we do. "[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. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. By comparison, Belgium reported the highest OECD voter turnout: 87.2% in the most recent national election. And she thinks corporate America has been leading the way, pointing out several businesses, including Walmart and Coca-Cola, that have announced paid time off and other accommodations to make voting easier for employees on November 3. [8], Among registered voters in the 2016 US presidential election, being too busy or having a conflicting schedule was the third-highest reason cited for not voting, accounting for 14% of registered voters who did not cast a vote (about 2.7 million people). Newsweek subscription offers > "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. a list of voting rights provisions he would support. Right now, federal elections are always held on Tuesdays, because farmers in the 1840s needed multiple days to get to the . 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.However, some countries, or regions within a country, which hold elections on a weekday declare election day a public holiday. It was created in 1992,. High turnout means that people are successfully exercising their rights-a good in itselfbut it also ensures the continuing health of majority rule. 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. 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. Election Day isn't a national holiday in the US, but some people think it should be. ", Others, however, are skeptical that creating a national holiday would increase voter turnout. I am from Malta - a tiny EU island nation and today we celebrate the shipwreck of St. Paul on our island. First published on October 26, 2020 / 10:57 AM. 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. 11 July (Tuesday): Celebration of the Golden Spurs (Day of the Flemish Community) - celebrates the victory of the count of Flanders and the borough militia against the king of France outside Courtrai. It happens to be on the day the politicians themselves get elected. 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. I'll look into this some more and may change it on the map. Four more states only provide time off for biennial, even-year elections: Delaware, Louisiana, Michigan and New Hampshire. Other countries take heroic efforts to ensure that people can vote if they desire. 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. The outliers are a tiny minority, and only two countries have no formal national day at all. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard There's nothing that would stop voters here from treating a Democracy Day like just another day off.". 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.. Here are the four things I found interesting about this once as I mapped it out: 1) Yes, most of the world was shaped by colonialism. 26K views, 1.2K likes, 65 loves, 454 comments, 23 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Citizen TV Kenya: #FridayNight However, those numbers may be attributed to a combination of factors not solely because their elections occur on non-work days. There is a simple and straightforward solution: make Election Day a national holiday so that people have the time and freedom to vote without taking time off from work. https://www.britannica.com/question/Should-election-day-be-made-a-national-holiday. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. Traditionally elections are held over two days, starting on a Friday afternoon and ending the following Saturday afternoon. According to Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus, Australia adopted compulsory voting in 1924 after turnout there dropped to less than 60 percent in 1922. They stated, Citizen Day would do more than give our democracy the honor that it deserves; it would help our democracy work better. Most of these 19 states' policies only cover general elections, though. Rather, federal elections are held on the third Monday of October, every four years . With just about six in 10 voters turning out to vote in the U.S., some civil rights advocates are arguing that it's about time to give Americans the day off to vote. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). "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. Elections to the European Parliament take place over a period of four days (i.e., Thursday through to Sunday), according to the election days of the EU members states (as listed above). Some countries, about 27 of them, make voting compulsory. 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. In the 2016 election, only 56% of voting-age Americans cast their ballots. [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. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a group that includes 36 countries. But Gupta said that there's been a "lack of political will" to give the initiative some momentum. We are the only advanced democracy that makes it deliberately difficult for people to vote. For more information on how to vote, head over to our TurboVote module. In an interview published Thursday, President Obama endorsed the idea of holding U.S. federal elections on weekends or national holidays. Mr. CHRISTENSEN: One of the biggest countries that uses compulsory voting is Australia. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position. US voter turnout trails most developed countries. 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%. A large Democratic voting rights bill that would have made Election Day a national holiday collapsed in the Senate this year when two senators refused to join their own party in changing. By Monday morning, nearly 60 million had already voted early across the country, closing in on half of 2016's total voter turnout. Vanita Gupta, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights, is working to increase voter participation and decrease voter disenfranchisement. ABUJA, Nigeria -- Nigeria's election commission announced the first results late Sunday from the country's closely watched presidential election, but it could days . As of mid-May Republicans in 48 states have introduced 389 bills that would reduce the hours polls are open; forbid people from eating or drinking while waiting in line to vote; close voter registration on Sundays, when Black churches traditionally have organized their members to register and vote; repeal no excuse absentee voting; and create a long list of other barriers to voting. Others have suggested making Veterans Day (Nov. 11), which is already a paid national holiday, Election Day. WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - Election Day should be a holiday for workers in the United States, President Joe Biden said on Thursday. An ordinary act of Congress could move Election Day to a Saturday or make it a holiday, thereby giving more people more . Disclaimer: Dates and Events correct at time of printing but may change without our knowledge. And. [8][15] A holiday for elections sidesteps the issue of a weekend election, which could conflict with religious obligations. [16]. Or is it an optimistic idea that would exclude already disadvantaged voters while failing to increase turnout? Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. OK, so why Tuesday? Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. Puerto Rico's voter turnout has gone as high as 80 . 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. 1. Consider the potential benefits and difficulties of changing election day. Additionally, many of these individuals rely on school days as childcare for their children. Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey agrees. Georgia grassroots groups helped Biden win. A National Day is a date for a country to celebrate its nationhood. Election Day is always the first Tuesday after November 1st. Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. 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. Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York have also made Election Day into a state holiday. 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). Litigation pending before the Supreme Court this term in Brnovich v. DNC, however, threatens to undermine this rule. Last modified on October 1, 2020. Start the discussion over on our Facebook page, and let us know about civic engagement in your town, state, or country! The Freedom to Vote Act would make Election Day a national holiday. 4) The outliers are few but tell you a lot about those . Some businesses may close, but their hourly paid employees will either have to use a PTO day or not get paid.. Sunday. Proponents say the Electoral College ensures everyone selects the president. 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. 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. There is a "need to make voting more accessible, to make it more of a civic duty, to make sure that people don't have to choose between their job and their ability to cast the ballot are issues that are more prominent today than ever before," she told CBS News. And even a number of the blue countries, such as Australia and Canada, are actually the product of colonialism. 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. Arizona, for example, allows employees who do not have three consecutive hours before or after work when the polls are open to take paid time off to vote at the start or end of their work days. Before that point, states could hold their presidential elections on any day within a certain 34-day window. If so, how? 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. Virginia joined these states in April this year. Election officials in various states have predicted historic levels of turnout in 2020, with a chance to reach the highest ever. Because of the pandemic, more U.S. voters are exploring alternatives to voting on Election Day, such as early voting and mail-in voting. procon@eb.com, 2022 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Corrections? As you can see, the world is mostly divided between countries that celebrate a national independence day and countries that celebrate a national unification or revolution day. Estonia This tiny Baltic nation is making waves for introducing something that seems completely logical in the digital age -- online voting. 25, 2016, Chris Talgo, "Make Election Day a National Holiday? In 2018, a Pewstudy found that 65% of Americans favored making Election Day a national holiday. 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. Read More, Election Day is a holiday in Puerto Rico. Research has found that higher trust in the government and democratic process leads to greater voter turnout. This year, Election . Roughly 138 million Americans voted in the 2016 presidential election, just 61.4% of the 214,109,360 million who were registered to vote, according to The U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Russia's national holiday only goes back to 1992, when the Russian Federation was founded. 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. Do you think it's time for the US to follow their lead? As a holiday, that means several millions of people would have the day off from work or school, making it way . After all, what do our veterans fight for, if not for democracy itself? Yet, few of us, especially those who have worked on Capitol Hill, harbor . For example, in Ecuador, only literate citizens between 18 and 65 are required to vote; those over 65 or who are not literateare not required. Should Election Day be a national holiday? 4. "If I had my way, and I think it is really important, every . Let us make it as easy as we can," Sanders told CBS News. 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. TOP QUESTION Plus, some experts say moving to weekend voting could substantially increase the cost of running elections. [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. Executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation & Research David Becker argues that increasing turnout is a nuanced problem that can't be fixed by declaring a holiday. 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. In many other democracies around the world, national elections are held on the weekend or are a federal holiday. 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." Compulsory voting does not necessarily guarantee 100% turnout rates, however, though they still see higher rates than countries which do not require it. 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. South Africa's is from the first democratic elections, in 1994. Countries like Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico also showed high voter turnout rates by having holidays. Incidentally, Australia routinely reaches more than 90. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. The U.S. ranks 26th out of 32 for voter among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. Last week his office released a list of voting rights provisions he would support. 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. Again, it is not clear that this is demonstrably true but it is a widespread perception. [9], Former Editor-in-Chief of the Northwestern University Law Review, Beau C. Tremitiere, JD, stated, The demands of school and work schedules keep millions of Americans, especially those with children or long commutes, from ever getting to their polling stations The ideal solution is simple: Congress should make Election Day a national holiday, or move Election Day to the weekend. [10] A holiday would allow more citizens volunteer at polling places or drive the elderly to vote, and make a difference in states where long lines at the polls keep voters waiting for hours. Israel and South Korea hold their elections on weekdays, but they're national holidays. Here are five reasons why Election Day should be a national holiday. This map, inspired by a Reddit thread with a similar map, shows the national days of the world's countries. 2. Monday in early September. [26] Creating laws in all states that let people vote before or after work would be more effective than a national holiday, which would quickly be viewed as just another day off to enjoy. 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. 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. 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.". However, making National Election Day a holiday will disadvantage low-income and blue . If Election Day were a national holiday, how would you ensure hourly and low-income workers would get a chance to vote? 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. Other politicians, businesses, and advocacy groups have voiced their approval of celebrating Election Day as a national holiday. There are many ways to boost voter turnout expanding early voting, automatically registering voters, and improving civic education programs . Why or why not? 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. ProCon.org is the institutional or organization author for all ProCon.org pages. The bill has no cosponsors, but the concept was supported by every 2020 Democratic candidate for president, excluding Mike Bloomberg and now-nominee Joe Biden. ", Obama: "Absolutely. Sometimes, specific ballot measures can influence voter turnout: in the UK, the Brexit vote resulted in a 72% turnout, slightly higher than the average of 69%. 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. The result is voter turnout rates of 72.3% and 77.2% respectively, which is 26-32% higher than the United States. However, rules, dates and deadlines vary by state, which can be confusing to some voters. Veterans Day typically is about one week after Election Day so this would involve little disruption in terms of job schedules and monthly routines. For more on the debate about making election day a national holiday, visit ProCon.org. On Sunday, Virginia Democratic Gov. 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. 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. Elections Project, which is close to the complete voter . Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 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. Would making Election Day a federal holiday increase voter turnout and celebrate democracy?