countries where election day is a national holiday countries where election day is a national holiday

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 this would not be a cure-all, it would indicate a national commitment to create a more vibrant democracy.". 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. It worked. [17] Countries such as France, Mexico, and India also observe federal holidays for elections. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. National and Festival Holiday Act, which is applicable to all establishments in the country, irrespective of under which law it is formed it is mandatory to grant leave on following 3 days, i.e. A lot of people go to work, or they're in school during the weekday. While some states have made Election Day a civic holiday (though it primarily applies to public workers) and most have laws that require companies to give employees some time off to vote, none of the legislative efforts to enact these changes on a national level have been successful. [15] Israel and South Korea make national elections a holiday to avoid economic hardship for voters. The Freedom to Vote Act would make Election Day a national holiday. House Democrats introduced their first piece of legislation in the new Congress this week, an anti-corruption bill that proposes making Election Day a federal holiday and encourages . 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. But while . The result is voter turnout rates of 72.3% and 77.2% respectively, which is 26-32% higher than the United States. Saturday, but can be any day of the week, such as when a Saturday conflicts with a holiday. Australia sees around 91%, and 94% in Singapore. 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. Whether election day should be made a national holiday is debated. "And we actually have more options than ever before.". Estonia This tiny Baltic nation is making waves for introducing something that seems completely logical in the digital age -- online voting. "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons." 26 th January (Republic Day), 15 th August (Independence Day) and 2 nd October (Gandhi Jayanti). Senator Bernie Sanders has certainly tried heintroducedthe "Democracy Day Act" in 2018, which proposed making Election Day a federal holiday. The pros and cons of the felon voting debate include arguments about the social contract, voting while in prison, and paying debts. 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. 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. For rest of the festival holidays the declaration . 3) Britain and Denmark have no national days. So when faced with choices like having to take unpaid time off work to vote, waking at the wee hours of the morning to vote so that they're not late to work, standing in hours-long lines with everyone else who waited until after the workday to cast their ballot, or simply not voting at all, many choose the latter. Until 2009, elections were held over several consecutive Sundays. 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. Approximately two million people who work for the federal government would be given a paid day off, and private companies might follow suit. America is walking the knifes edge between maintaining and losing democracy. But while experts say such a scheme is unlikely to fly in the US, making it easier for people to vote would appear to be a step in the right direction. These include national, state, and local government representatives at all levels up to the president. Plus, some experts say moving to weekend voting could substantially increase the cost of running elections. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. Let us make it as easy as we can," Sanders told CBS News. Updated: 7:01 AM EST November 2, 2020 ATLANTA For many Americans, voting on Election Day is a tradition, and some wonder why it's not a national holiday. Additionally, many of these individuals rely on school days as childcare for their children. List two to three ways. In some states where they don't have mail-in ballots, voting can take a lot of time out of the day. During the 2016 presidential election, less than 56% of the estimated voting-age population in the US voted. 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. 1. 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. [1], An election day usually culminates in an election night when the results of the election are tallied and winners are announced.[2]. 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. But some election analysts told CBS News that making Election Day a holiday is not a way to make voting easier. 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. So, since this effort does not receive bipartisan support, it is difficult to enact.. 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%. Exact date set by the. WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - Election Day should be a holiday for workers in the United States, President Joe Biden said on Thursday. But it is not a federal holiday. 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. A National Day is a date for a country to celebrate its nationhood. I am from Malta - a tiny EU island nation and today we celebrate the shipwreck of St. Paul on our island. In some of these countries, voting is compulsory, and in most of them, Election Day is a holiday. [3] In 1800, 83% of the American labor force was agrarian, but today only 11% of total US employment is agriculture-related. Four more states only provide time off for biennial, even-year elections: Delaware, Louisiana, Michigan and New Hampshire. 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. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider 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. Given this, an Election Day holiday would remove a significant barrier to participation for relatively well-to-do potential voters while doing little to make voting easier for a significant. [31][32] Trying one of these alternatives would avoid the negative economic impact of closing businesses for Election Day. Whether accurate or not, elected officials likely think that making it easier to vote would advantage one party at the expense of the other party.. Read more: You can take time off from work to vote in 30 states here's the full list. It is the day when popular ballots are held to select public officials. Congress would shore up the peoples right to vote while guaranteeing the time to engage in this fundamental right. Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. - 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. Topics Explainers Politics US Evergreen US Explainers YOU MIGHT LIKE Like Perez, Becker thinks giving voters more time and opportunity to vote is the best approach. Before that point, states could hold their presidential elections on any day within a certain 34-day window. 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. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. by country by date 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. And I think on Election Day we should have a national holiday which says, 'you don't have to rush to vote.' There is no fixed election day for general elections, although since 1986 every general election has been held on Sunday. While young people are generally less likely to vote, they are more motivated by the issue of freedom of speech than older generations. We are the only advanced democracy that makes it deliberately difficult for people to vote. That means the stock market will be open, and so will. To paraphrase one of the commenters on the Reddit thread, is certainly is ironic that the British empire that is indirectly responsible for so many of the world's independence days has no real national day of its own. Because the impact of a federal holiday is far-reaching, many states and workplaces would likely follow suit. In theory, it seems that any move that would make it easier for Americans to vote would increase participation. Why or why not? To look through the stats for voter turnout for other countries, you can visit the website for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and explore the data. Keep in mind that in the mid-1800s, the U.S. was largely an agricultural society. In fact, these voters may be more likely to have to work as a result of a federal election holiday, where they may have had time off previously on a random Tuesday in November. 3. Even people youd expect to know, like politicians, have been stumped by this very question. [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. All this despite the fact that these types of restrictions have typically been considered illegal under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires that elections be equally open to all people. Rather than make it a national holiday where inevitably people will still have to work, change election day to election week. Election Day is already a holiday for state employees in more than a dozen states including Kentucky, Michigan, and New York. But none of those states have considerably high turnout compared to those where it isn't a holiday. The Freedom to Vote Act would make Election Day a national holiday for federal elections, meaning non-essential federal employees would get a paid day off. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. After all, what do our veterans fight for, if not for democracy itself? Modern life operates around the clock. All federal elections take place the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. 4. 0:00. And there is no better way to secure democracy than to ensure that everyone has not only the right to vote, but also the meaningful opportunity to cast their ballots. Election Day is observed on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, taking place on November 7 this year. Thats not to say no one has tried. 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. Early voting for the midterms varies by state. 1. [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. Countries like Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico also showed high voter turnout rates by having holidays. Consider the potential benefits and difficulties of changing election day. 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. 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. 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. 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. First Sunday of July until 2018. All 435 representatives were up for re-election, as well as a third ofsenators, and countless elections for governors, mayors, state legislators, and local government across the country.