countries where election day is a national holiday

4) The outliers are few but tell you a lot about those countries. of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents and 59% of Republicans and GOP leaners said they would support making Election Day a national holiday. ", ProCon.org. Proponents say the Electoral College ensures everyone selects the president. Presidential elections are held every four years, in years divisible by four, while the elections to the . Maybe Making Election Day a National Holiday Wouldn't Really Work Consider the potential benefits and difficulties of changing election day. Would making Election Day a federal holiday increase voter turnout and celebrate democracy? Opponents say it allows only a few states to select the president. It's a reminder of turmoil of the last century a very short span in historical terms and how deeply its events influence the world today. [27], Companies including Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Farmers Insurance, Kaiser Permanente, Patagonia, and Walmart have joined Make Time to Vote campaign, which encourages employers to provide paid time off, schedule no meetings on Election Day, and give information on mail-in ballots and early voting. Consider, for example, the national days of France and Germany: the former marks the French revolution, in 1789, and the latter marks the German reunification in 1990. To make Election Day a national holiday, it would take an act of Congress, and so far, no bills proposing such action have passed. Why not make Election Day a national holiday? - CBS News 2020, Virginia. Should Election Day Be a Holiday? - Homepage | Morningside Center for Why isn't Election Day a national holiday yet? - CNN One major reason: It comes down to tradition, Troy said. Election Day in USA in 2023 | Office Holidays "And we actually have more options than ever before.". 0:58. Omissions? While these provisions represent major steps in the right direction, they are not enough. 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. / CBS News. Skip Navigation Elections are federal holidays in Singapore, which, when combined with mandatory voting, resulted in a voter turnout of 93.6% for the 2015 election of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Right now, federal elections are always held on Tuesdays, because farmers in the 1840s needed multiple days to get to the . ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 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. Managing Editor Is Election Day a federal holiday? Here's what is open, closed Tuesday Other politicians, businesses, and advocacy groups have voiced their approval of celebrating Election Day as a national holiday. Litigation pending before the Supreme Court this term in Brnovich v. DNC, however, threatens to undermine this rule. [1] The decision was made taking into account farmers, a large portion of the voting constituency at the time, who would not have been able to travel to polling places in winter months or during planting or harvest times. Why Election Day Isn't a National Holiday in the US - Business Insider The United States has held federal elections on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years since 1845. Stay up to date with what you want to know. As a holiday, that means several millions of people would have the day off from work or school, making it way . 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). Should Election Day Be a Holiday? - The Atlantic Should the United States Use the Electoral College in Presidential Elections? The Freedom to Vote Act would make Election Day a national holiday. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Corrections? 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. That too is a reminder as to how new many of the ideas from that century, such as full enfranchisement and national self-determination, really are. However, those numbers may be attributed to a combination of factors not solely because their elections occur on non-work days. I am from Malta - a tiny EU island nation and today we celebrate the shipwreck of St. Paul on our island. All rights reserved. This page was last edited on 1 February 2023, at 18:43. [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. It was created in 1992,. Elections to the Bundestag may be held on another public holiday. COLUMN: Point Counterpoint: There are pros and cons to making Election There is no fixed election day for general elections, although since 1986 every general election has been held on Sunday. 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. So the question of how you label Ireland goes back to which holiday you consider its national day. Update: Some readers think that Ireland should also be considered an outlier, as St. Patrick's Day is often considered its primary "national day" and is not really an independence or revolution day. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. It happens to be on the day the politicians themselves get elected. "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. [16]. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. CBS News reporter covering climate change and energy. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? These include national, state, and local government representatives at all levels up to the president. Granderson: Why aren't Democrats making election day a state holiday And some countries, like Australia, require people to vote by subjecting those who don't to a minor fine equivalent to a traffic ticket. [31] Same-day registration boosts turnout by 5%, and universal implementation of it would have added as many as 4.8 million voters in the 2016 election, according to Danielle Root, JD, and Liz Kennedy, JD, from the Center for American Progress. Election day should be a national holiday. Which type of claim is this First Sunday of July until 2018. 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. Here are the proper bibliographic citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): [Editor's Note: The APA citation style requires double spacing within entries. - 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. [15] Israel and South Korea make national elections a holiday to avoid economic hardship for voters. [28][29], Patagonia, an outdoor clothing retailer, paused operation on Nov. 6, 2018 so that all employees could vote. 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. 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. For other uses, see. Over the course of three days, Estonians could vote by placing their state-issued ID cards (which have an electronic chip . The outliers are a tiny minority, and only two countries have no formal national day at all. Here are five reasons why Election Day should be a national holiday. Over 60 court cases reviewed the evidence and judgesappointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents alikereached the same conclusion: there was no compelling evidence of fraud. 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. When turnout is high, it becomes increasingly fruitless for politicians to play to their base in ways that allow a vocal minority to rule, which is how many American leaders currently operate. This . 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. Mr. CHRISTENSEN: One of the biggest countries that uses compulsory voting is Australia. 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. Democracy on the ballot will the remaining election deniers succeed? 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. Incidentally, Australia routinely reaches more than 90. Additionally, many of these individuals rely on school days as childcare for their children. While the majority of US states have voter leave laws that guarantee certain employees a modicum of time off to vote, no federal law currently mandates that employees get time off to cast their ballots. 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. 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. Is Election Day a national holiday? Why you don't get the day off Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. Making Election Day a holiday would not necessarily involve adding a new holiday, which employers might resistparticularly following the addition of Juneteenth as a national holiday last week. History of Election Day 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. 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. As for Denmark, it has a national liberation day and some people celebrate international worker's day, but neither is a public holiday. Is Election Day a national holiday? Why you don't get the day off The COVID-19 pandemic convinced. This map, inspired by a Reddit thread with a similar map, shows the national days of the world's countries. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a group that includes 36 countries. Even people youd expect to know, like politicians, have been stumped by this very question. Some businesses may close, but their hourly paid employees will either have to use a PTO day or not get paid.. ProCon.org. Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. But none of those states have considerably high turnout compared to those where it isn't a holiday. They stated, Citizen Day would do more than give our democracy the honor that it deserves; it would help our democracy work better. And even a number of the blue countries, such as Australia and Canada, are actually the product of colonialism. Why Election Day is on a Tuesday in November in the U.S. | Pew Research Lessons in How to Hold Elections", "GE2015: First time Polling Day falls on a Friday, but not first time polls held on a weekday", "180/2014 Z.z. [ 18][ 19] Con 1 Why are other countries better at conducting elections than we are? ", "An overall look at Vietnam's election law", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Election_day&oldid=1136894393. In previous elections, that percentage was even higher. There are many ways to boost voter turnout expanding early voting, automatically registering voters, and improving civic education programs . 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. Australia sees around 91%, and 94% in Singapore. With Juneteenth now a national holiday, could Election Day and 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. Read More, Election Day is a holiday in Puerto Rico. This is the day we cast ballots to select public officials from local to the national government. A Pew Research Center analysis finds that 27 of the 36 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development hold their national elections on the weekend, . So, focusing voting efforts to one day doesn't do enough to accommodate everyone, Becker argues. [36]. Start the discussion over on our Facebook page, and let us know about civic engagement in your town, state, or country! These numbers also may be indicative of higher turnout for major elections, but may not reflect engagement in local or regional elections. Election Day is not a national holiday in 2022, but some states require employees get paid time off to vote. It would take an act of Congress to make Election Day a national holiday, and there is currently a bill proposing to designate "Democracy Day" as a national election holiday before a special committee. 22 June 1986, 29 October 1989, 6 June 1993, 3 March 1996, 12 March 2000, 14 March 2004, 9 March 2008, 20 November 2011, 20 December 2015, 26 June 2016. 26K views, 1.2K likes, 65 loves, 454 comments, 23 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Citizen TV Kenya: #FridayNight 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. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. If you make election day a federal holiday, youll have all the people who work in these types of jobs still having to work, being inundated with customers who have the day off and they wont have child care because the schools will be closed, Suzanne Lucas, who previously worked in human resources, wrote in a piece for Inc.com. 3. February 26, 2023, 5:06 AM. "Election day should be a national holiday" is a claim of policy because we are discussing a policy which searches a solution for the presented argument. 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. Unlike Singapore, South Korea and Israel, Canada has not declared election days as public holidays. 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. Theyare still considerably higher than in the United States, which typically sees about 65% on average turn out to vote for major elections. Election Day should be a 'day off,' U.S. President Joe Biden says But these days, Tuesdays are actually quite inconvenient for many Americans, particularly those who cant take time off work to cast their ballots a problem that disproportionately affects Black, Latino and lower-income voters. We are very proud that we are mentioned in the Bible. [18][19], Federal law doesnt require private employers to give employees paid federal holidays. 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? Image 2. [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. 1. 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. 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. Vanita Gupta, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights, is working to increase voter participation and decrease voter disenfranchisement. Election Day - Tuesday, Nov. 8 - is a special day, with voters casting ballots across the country. 26 th January (Republic Day), 15 th August (Independence Day) and 2 nd October (Gandhi Jayanti). But they never go far and die in committee without a vote. "Election Day really definitely does need to be a holiday," she said, adding, "We need to be able to have everybody feel like they have a great stake in it.". 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. Rather than make it a national holiday where inevitably people will still have to work, change election day to election week. Or is it an optimistic idea that would exclude already disadvantaged voters while failing to increase turnout? Election Day is always the first Tuesday after November 1st. Take, for example, Bhutan, which every celebrates the anniversary of Ugyen Wangchuck's 1907 election as the nation's first hereditary king (yes, you read that correctly), but not its 1949 independence.

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