[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. Scan this QR code to download the app now. Would making Election Day a federal holiday increase voter turnout and celebrate democracy? Without this simple step toward turning out as many Americans as possible to vote, any reform will be incomplete. For more information, please see our And that enabled us to essentially fill our needs of staffing the elections. WDET is here to keep you informed onessential information, news and resources related to COVID-19. Adding in a new national holiday isnt necessarily without But they never go far and die in committee without a vote. Also, would a holiday mean limited public transit schedules, which might make it harder for some people to get to the polls? Many Americans know that Election Day is a Tuesday, but few know why. 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. Marshall is an attorney in Washington and Okun is a corporate strategic advisor in Singapore for McLarty Associates. States such as Georgia and Iowa already have passed restrictive measures and many others appear poised to do the same thing. Carlson calls on Minnesotans to oppose sulfide mining, Local View: The stories of spring, other seasons, play out in the night sky, In Response: Expensive or not, Minnesota a good place to do business, The beginning of the rest of their lives: Powwow recognizes Fond du Lac graduates and more, Lake Superior Medical Equipment relocates to West Duluth after fire, Minnesota DNR, feds sign agreement over logging in wildlife areas, Special Olympics return to Northland after 3 years. Whether that be through the mail, or people drop them off in person. an important step in ensuring the right to vote for all Americans and stabilizing democracy. ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. However, those numbers may be attributed to a combination of factors not solely because their elections occur on non-work days. Creating laws in all states that let people vote before or after work would be more effective than a holiday. Her ideas include requiring a statewide risk-limiting audit of an elections results before the state certification,giving clerks more time ahead of Election Day to process ballots and banning open carry of firearms within 100 feet of polling locations. So, since this effort does not receive bipartisan support, it is difficult to enact.. Make Election Day a federal holiday. The U.S. ranks 26th out of 32 for voter among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. As part of the weekly series MichMash, hosts Jake Neher Cheyna Roth talk about the cases for and against making Election Day a state holiday. Voter suppression policies need to be reversed, starting with restoring the pre-clearance provisions of the Civil Rights Act. Approximately two million people who work for the federal government would be given a paid day off, and private companies might follow suit. Establishing Election Day as a holiday, taken together with the pending federal voting rights reforms, would go a long way towards stabilizing democracy and ensuring basic democratic rights. 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. The ideal ballot would have the candidates in one alphabetical list on one side, and the offices they seek on the other. [23], Annie McDonald, Editor of the Berkeley Public Policy Journal, noted that the workers who are least likely to get paid holidays are those who already have less of a voice in the political process: Americans working in retail, hospitality, and service jobs, for example, would most likely not receive the benefit of a paid holiday to vote. Election Day holiday: The bill would make Election Day a legal public holiday, making it easier for voters to get to the polls. COLUMN: Point Counterpoint: There are pros and cons to making Election Day a national holiday, OKLAHOMA WATCH: For tenants behind on rent, ant, Armstrong Bank appoints Aston Armstrong Hudson , OKLAHOMA WATCH: School report cards released, b, Keys secure Districts sweep against Colgate, Doctor accused of killing nurse released on bond, Man accused of sexting minor to appear in court, Business owner accused of obstructing an officer has undisclosed offer revised, EVERYDAY HEROES: Photog overcomes challenges to earn degree, BERRY BEST TIME: Strawberry growers in Adair County start selling crop, Man accused of killing three people denied demand for admissibility hearing, Man charged with murder of deputys daughter pleads not guilty, HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IN DOWNTOWN TAHLEQUAH: 2023 RED FERN FESTIVAL. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard So, no, please dont make Election Day a holiday. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson wants to make Election Day a state holiday, but some worry about unintended consequences. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. But experts say improving voter turnout is a complicated issue that no single silver bullet strategy can solve. [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. And these two nuggets, stashed inside Section 1903. Mallory McMorrow (@MalloryMcMorrow) February 3, 2021. 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. We want parents to vote, not get stuck. Bartons concerns about the possible unintended consequences of an Election Day holiday haveled a Democratic sponsor of legislation to create the holiday to reconsider her bill. 1. Making Election Day a national holiday will increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote. Were a country thatll spend as much this year on ads for video games as presidential campaigns (around $5 billion, according to CNBC). Would you have to pay all levels of election workers holiday pay, which would make administering elections more expensive? The bill had zero co-sponsors and went Part of HuffPost Home & Living. Changing the laws and individual policies would be more effective ways to help people vote. 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. We are not a nation of civics nerds. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard 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. For example, although most schools are closed anyway because theyre being used as polling places,not all of them are, which begs the question: If were going to be closing more schools and possibly daycares would that cause childcare problems that would actually make it harder for some people to vote? Plus, some experts say moving to weekend voting could substantially increase the cost of running elections. Political campaigns can help winning elections. 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. All Rights Reserved. Cons: Private employers are not required to give their employees federal holidays anyways. To have a democratic society, we need to restructure government and elections. 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. Explain your answer. Proponents of automatic voter registration say the policy removes barriers to registration for eligible voters, a step toward increasing voter participation. Overall, White adults are less likely to favor making Election Day a national holiday and automatically registering all eligible citizens to vote than are Black, Hispanic Low 38F. In 2016, there were about 245 million Americans 18 and older, according to Pew Research, and only 56% of them voted in the Donald-Trump-vs.-Hillary-Clinton throwdown. Examine this opinion article from Evil HR Lady Suzanne Lucas on why election day should not be a national holiday. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson wants to make Election Day a holiday in Michigan. Why or why not? Compulsory voting. Federal law doesnt require private employers to give employees paid holidays. Instead of having the names spelled out, voters would pick between Oje Diben and Noladd Rumpt.. Partly cloudy skies. 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. But only 35% bothered to cast un bulletin de votein the second round of Frances parliamentary election (its what comes from loading the ticket with the likes of retired matadors and mathematical savants). It shouldnt all come down to just one day., Despite Olive Branch from Whitmer,GOPShowing No Interest in Cooperation in2021, A Michigan Reporters Harrowing Experience Inside Capitol DuringInsurrection, New Year Means New Democratic Majority on State SupremeCourt. Approximately two million people who work However, making National Election Day a holiday will disadvantage low-income and blue-collar workers. More absentee voters mean there needs to be more of those ballots processed on Election Day, while other poll workers help people cast ballots in person. We see that you have javascript disabled. If Election Day were a national holiday, how would you ensure hourly and low-income workers would get a chance to vote? 1. Or is it an optimistic idea that would exclude already disadvantaged voters while failing to increase turnout? People who work long shifts, juggle multiple jobs, Michael Graham is political editor at InsideSources.com. 13 . North Korea. [28][29], Patagonia, an outdoor clothing retailer, paused operation on Nov. 6, 2018 so that all employees could vote. Is that really an improvement? While these provisions represent major steps in the right direction, they are not enough. The answer dates back to 1845, when Congress passed a law declaring that federal elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Whether the voter has to go to office or has an important meeting, they may not be able to find any excuse to miss the voting procedure if election day is declared as a national holiday. 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. Folks who follow the news and keep up with current events sometimes forget theyre in the minority. [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). High turnout means that people are successfully exercising their rights-a good in itselfbut it also ensures the continuing health of majority rule. One way to judge that: prioritized legislation. If so, how? (Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg). Governments are required to See the pros and cons of declaring Election Day a holiday across the nation. 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. [4][5], The United States currently has 10 national holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Christmas Day. 5. Although state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) says she still supports the idea, but she says Im all-in on an all-of-the-above approach.. . "Election Day National Holiday Top 3 Pros and Cons." Its time to make voting harder. 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 work days. Coronavirus: Timeline of Comments by Trump and Biden with Context. Or are there other legitimate and logical reasons that may be preventing the Election Day from becoming a national holiday? The entire voter suppression conspiracy being advanced by progressives is nonsense on its face. It needs better voters, people who have some vague notion of what theyre voting for or against, not just people practicing identity politics or voting with their political tribe. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Again, it is not clear that this is demonstrably true but it is a widespread perception. Making election day a holiday would improve the ability of the government to conduct elections. Litigation pending before the Supreme Court this term in Brnovich v. DNC, however, threatens to undermine this rule. 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 participation. Here are five reasons why Election Day should be a national holiday. OK, so why Tuesday? 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. Jake Neher is senior producer for Detroit Today and host of MichMash for 101.9 WDET. The question remains: is such a holiday good public policy? Try lower-wage earners at restaurants and stores enterprises that would look to cash in if the working class got an extra day off. [18][19], Federal law doesnt require private employers to give employees paid federal 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. He previously reported on the Michigan Legislature for the Michigan Public Radio Network. One example: if its a holiday, kids are home from schoolmaking it much harder for parents to have time to get to the polls. Countries that have weekend or holiday elections do tend to have better turnout overall. Others have suggested making Veterans Day (Nov. 11), which is already a paid national holiday, Election Day. The second Trump vote could reach those levels. Not useful if people have strong opinions. If 118 million people did it in 2018 without a holiday, why do we need to shut down the post office and close the banks to get them to do it again? 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. Last week his office released a list of voting rights provisions he would support. Other solutions would more reliably increase voter turnout than a national holiday. Explore which countries have weekend voting with Pew Research.
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