countries where election day is a national holiday

Common reasons for a certain day are the date on which a state or country achieved its independence, or the date of the country's patron saint day. 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. ABUJA, Nigeria -- Nigeria's election commission announced the first results late Sunday from the country's closely watched presidential election, but it could days . [10][11]] Countries outpacing the U.S. include the U.K, Mexico and Canada. Because the impact of a federal holiday is far-reaching, many states and workplaces would likely follow suit. 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. 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. Virginia joined these states in April this year. 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. This article is about the general term "election day" worldwide. Veterans Day typically is about one week after Election Day so this would involve little disruption in terms of job schedules and monthly routines. Why or why not? [8], In the 2016 presidential election, 55.7% of the American voting-age population cast a ballot. First Sunday of July until 2018. a list of voting rights provisions he would support. "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.". 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. But this arrangement began to raise concerns as travel and communication improved in the 19th century: Results from states that voted earlier could sway the outcome in states that voted later. 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. Voters in more than one-third of the country enjoy some form of an Election Day holiday, according to RepresentUs. 0:00. Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. Opponents say kids arent mature enough to vote. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Right now, federal elections are always held on Tuesdays, because farmers in the 1840s needed multiple days to get to the . Election Day - Tuesday, Nov. 8 - is a special day, with voters casting ballots across the country. [14], Pew Research Center found that 71% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans support making Election Day a federal holiday. TOP QUESTION Additionally, many of these individuals rely on school days as childcare for their children. Think about it. And even a number of the blue countries, such as Australia and Canada, are actually the product of colonialism. Should the United States Use the Electoral College in Presidential Elections? Presidential and semipresidential systems, Constituencies: districting and apportionment. [7] A handful of states have made election day a state holiday, including New York, Hawaii, Kentucky, and, in Apr. Rather than make it a national holiday where inevitably people will still have to work, change election day to election week. the Tuesday that occurs within November 2 to November 8. Countries like Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico also showed high voter turnout rates by having holidays. Third Monday of October every four years, or after Parliament is dissolved by the. At the top of his list: making Election Day a national holiday. Vanita Gupta, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights, is working to increase voter participation and decrease voter disenfranchisement. [18][19], Federal law doesnt require private employers to give employees paid federal holidays. 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. Regional Belgian public holidays during 2023. Other countries may only require it of certain people, and otherwise make it voluntary for others. Today in my country it is a national holiday as we celebrate the day when St. Paul converted our whole country to Catholicism in AD 60. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Here are five reasons why Election Day should be a national holiday. Reformers will be far more successful adding a few days or options or opportunities than trying to undo Election Day.. Runoffs take place on the last Sunday of the same October. 26 th January (Republic Day), 15 th August (Independence Day) and 2 nd October (Gandhi Jayanti). Election Day is always the first Tuesday after November 1st. And even if it were a federal holiday, that wouldn't ensure that all voting-age Americans would have the day off. The ideal solution is simple: Congress should make Election Day a national holiday, or move Election Day to the weekend. South Korea and Israel hold theirs during the week, but have made the day a federal holiday. 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. [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. 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. Traditionally on weekends. 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. Could that ever happen in the U.S.? Tuesday was chosen because it was most convenient for farmers traveling by horse and buggy at the time. 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. 0:58. 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. [1], An election day usually culminates in an election night when the results of the election are tallied and winners are announced.[2]. Some countries, about 27 of them, make voting compulsory. 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. 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. The US ranks 26th out of 32 for voter turnout among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Litigation pending before the Supreme Court this term in Brnovich v. DNC, however, threatens to undermine this rule. First Sunday of October. Common reasons for a certain day are the date on which a state or country achieved its independence, or the date of the country's patron saint day. A 2018 Pew survey found that the majority of Americans (65%) would be in favor of turning Election Day into a national holiday that includes 71% of Democratic-leaning voters and 59% of Republican-leaning voters. 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. There's nothing that would stop voters here from treating a Democracy Day like just another day off.". It would give people time to vote. Japan formally celebrates the anniversary of an ancient mythical emperor, although the holiday is mostly ignored today, due in part to its connections with Japan's ugly imperial history. [15] Israel and South Korea make national elections a holiday to avoid economic hardship for voters. What other improvements could be made to voting and Election Day? Holidays, law.cornell.edu (accessed Sep. 30, 2019), Matthew Haag, "Mitch McConnell Calls Push to Make Election Day a Holiday a Democratic Power Grab," nytimes.com, Jan. 31, 2019, Drew DeSilver, "U.S. Trails Most Developed Countries in Voter Turnout, pewresearch.org, May 21, 2018, Gustavo Lpez and Antonio Flores, "Dislike of Candidates or Campaign Issues Was Most Common Reason for Not Voting in 2016, pewresearch.org, June 1, 2017, Beau C. Tremitiere, "Election Day Should Be a National Holiday, cnbc.com, July 5, 2016, York Dispatch Editorial Board, "Editorial: On Voting, GOP Takes a Holiday from its Senses, yorkdispatch.com, Feb. 1, 2019, Tacey Rychter, "How Compulsory Voting Works: Australians Explain," nytimes.com, Nov. 5, 2018, Archon Fung and Jane Mansbridge, "Lets Vote, Party and Celebrate American Democracy on a New Holiday Called Citizen Day, usatoday.com, Oct. 26, 2018, Thomas MacMillan, "This Might Be the Best Idea for Turning out More Voters in U.S. Elections, nymag.com, July 8, 2017, Drew Desilver, "Weekday Elections Set the U.S. apart from Many Other Advanced Democracies, pewresearch.org, Nov. 6, 2018, Kathy Frankovic, "St. Patricks Day Not So Popular - Americans Would Rather Election Day a Holiday, today.yougov.com, Mar. Incidentally, Australia routinely reaches more than 90. While the Republican efforts are shrouded in their supposed desire to protect the integrity of elections, there is no evidence of significant voter fraud in recent elections, including presidential election in 2020. Election Day is not a national holiday in 2022, but some states require employees get paid time off to vote. [4][5], The United States currently has 10 national holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Christmas Day. "If I had my way, and I think it is really important, every . ", "National Electoral Code Article 53 and 148", Report of the 2014 National Lawyers Guild Bolivian Election Observation Delegation, Voting hours for elections in EU Member States, "The Parliamentary Electoral System in Denmark", Consultation Report on Review of Electoral Arrangements, "India Elects 2019: The World's Largest Election, Explained", "Six Nations match at the centre of row over election date - Independent.ie", "With full term possible, Netanyahu may outlast Ben-Gurion (and Obama)", Confessionalism and Electoral Reform in Lebanon, "Voters reminded not to reveal voting intention at Sunday's polling", "Malaysia's election on a Wednesday favors PM, opposition says", "Elections in Mexico and the US: Comparisons and contrasts", "Law on Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament", "Election Days General Elections 1853-2011", "The main features of the Norwegian electoral system", "Tribunal Electoral de Panam convoca a elecciones generales de 2024", "Peru Can Give U.S. This article was published more than10 years ago. 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. A simple but effective change, however, could be made in election timing. Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In Sweden, for example, 83% of registered voters participated in the 2014 national . Over the course of three days, Estonians could vote by placing their state-issued ID cards (which have an electronic chip . Saudi Arabia's marks the 1932 unification of the country. 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. Even among the nine weekday voting countries, South Korea's and Israel's voters take a day off work on the day of the election to ensure higher electoral participation. So, since this effort does not receive bipartisan support, it is difficult to enact.. 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. Sign up for notifications from Insider! ", ProCon.org. 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. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard (And in case youre curious, November was chosen as the month for similar reasons: It was after fall harvest was over but before the cold winter weather set in.). This . 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. The name change required at least 50% voter participation, and opponents to the name change advocated not voting at all rather than voting against the measure. It can fall on or between November 2 and November 8. CBS News reporter covering climate change and energy. High turnout means that people are successfully exercising their rights-a good in itselfbut it also ensures the continuing health of majority rule. "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. Its hard to say. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Consider the pandemic, which has not given essential workers more time off. If Election Day were a national holiday, how would you ensure hourly and low-income workers would get a chance to vote? Have you experienced an election day in another country, or do you know how voting works in a place we haven't mentioned here? Why Election Day is Held on a Tuesday in November in the U.S. A Boatload of Ballots: Midterm Voter Turnout Hit 50-Year High, Estonia's i-voting: more secure, more popular, Macedonia referendum: Low voter turnout puts country's name change at risk, What Voting and Elections Look Like Around the World, X Marks the Choice: Voting Methods around the World, Defense Language and National Security Education Office. Think about that: In most of the world, the sense of national identity is shaped by the act of cutting, or in some cases violently throwing off, the chains of colonialism. 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. 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. Sunday: the second Sunday of March for Congress, and the second Sunday of May for President and Vice President. The correct answer is B. Advertisement Advertisement marberman marberman In the 2016 election, only 56% of voting-age Americans cast their ballots. With those options early in-person voting and more voter awareness on how to vote by mail voter turnout appears to be trending upward. According to Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus, Australia adopted compulsory voting in 1924 after turnout there dropped to less than 60 percent in 1922. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? But some election analysts told CBS News that making Election Day a holiday is not a way to make voting easier. But Gupta said that there's been a "lack of political will" to give the initiative some momentum. Other politicians, businesses, and advocacy groups have voiced their approval of celebrating Election Day as a national holiday. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. 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. In many other democracies around the world, national elections are held on the weekend or are a federal holiday. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Washington's Birthday Memorial Day Flag Day Independence Day Constitution Day Election Day Veterans Day Bill of Rights Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King, Jr. Day takes place on third Monday of January each year, near the time of Dr. King's birthday on January 15th. Usually Wednesday. 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%. We also know that countries that have marked their election days as federal events see higher voting turnouts than the United States. Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey agrees. 1, which adds a new paid holiday for federal employees every other year. Keep in mind that in the mid-1800s, the U.S. was largely an agricultural society. States such as Georgia and Iowa already have passed restrictive measures and many others appear poised to do the same thing. "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. 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. Democracy on the ballot will the remaining election deniers succeed? 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. 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." ", Others, however, are skeptical that creating a national holiday would increase voter turnout. Russia's national holiday only goes back to 1992, when the Russian Federation was founded. 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. Some countries, about 27 of them,make voting compulsory. 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. 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 expense of the other party, the GOP, said Vincent Hutchings, a University of Michigan political science professor. [14][35] In Australia, where voting is mandatory, elections are celebrated with parties and barbeques nationwide, resulting in turnout rates around 90%. 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. First published on October 26, 2020 / 10:57 AM. Americans are working all the time. In some of these countries, voting is compulsory, and in most of them, Election Day is a holiday. 2) Most other countries are shaped by relatively recent revolutions. Ralph Northam signed into law a measure that, among other things, makes Election Day a state holiday in the commonwealth. Election Day is the day for general elections of public officials in the U.S. Issues also arise when a persons polling place is far from their workplace or when there are long lines to vote during peak times like in the morning before work or in the evening after work. Countries like France, Germany, and India all recognize Election Day as a national holiday or hold elections on the weekend in order to increase voter turnout. 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. Meanwhile, in Macedonia this past September, voters chose to stay away from the polls because of the proposed name change for the country. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. Examine this opinion article from Evil HR Lady Suzanne Lucas on why election day should not be a national holiday. Voter turnout in the United States is usually considered low, especially in years without a presidential election. The earliest possible date that Election Day can fall on is November 2nd, and the latest possible date is November 8th. [8][15] A holiday for elections sidesteps the issue of a weekend election, which could conflict with religious obligations. The Evolution of American Voting Rights in 242 Years Shows How Far Weve Come -- and How Far We Still Have to Go, businessinsider.com, Sep. 24, 2019, University of Houston Digital History, "Agriculture, digitalhistory.uh.edu (accessed Sep. 24, 2019), USDA, "Ag and Food Sectors and the Economy, ers.usda.gov, Sep. 20, 2019, Legal Information Institute, "5 U.S. Code 6103. A National Day is a date for a country to celebrate its nationhood. For rest of the festival holidays the declaration . 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. Not all of these marked the end of colonialism (for example, Austria's signifies the withdrawal of foreign militaries after World War II and the declaration of neutrality) but the vast majority do. [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. The result is voter turnout rates of 72.3% and 77.2% respectively, which is 26-32% higher than the United States. A National Day is a date for a country to celebrate its nationhood. Compared to other developed countries, America's voter turnout rate is pretty sad. But it is not a federal holiday. Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters. 25, 2016, Chris Talgo, "Make Election Day a National Holiday? The COVID-19 pandemic convinced. Election officials in various states have predicted historic levels of turnout in 2020, with a chance to reach the highest ever. Monday in early September. ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 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. 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. Modern life operates around the clock. Unlike Singapore, South Korea and Israel, Canada has not declared election days as public holidays. Election Day is a state holiday in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York. The outliers are a tiny minority, and only two countries have no formal national day at all. 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).

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