I’ve always thought in the US they should combine it with Memorial Day so that combine honoring the memory of those who gave all w/ the exercise of what that sacrifice helped guarantee for us.
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make an exception for public transport, please
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Holding votes on a weekend would also mean that polling stations would be easier to arrange, as you could use schools without disturbing the usual use of the building.
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I love vote-by-mail (we have it here in Washington too). You get your ballot at least 2 weeks before the mail-back deadline, they usually send you an information packet at or around the same time with information about all of the candidates and ballot initiatives, and you can spend as long as you like researching things and filling the ballot out in your spare time without worrying that you’re holding up the line. No holiday or even time-sensitive personal transportation required.
And if you drop it off at the library (or other designated drop-off location) when you’re done, there isn’t even a postage requirement.
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This is why I don’t think making it a holiday would boost participation rates much. We can vote by mail here in Calif, too. Can’t they do so in other states? Yes so many people can’t be bothered.
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Then you’re doing it wrong. Political affiliation isn’t a protected class. Hire only those people that are inclined to vote like you. Now when you give them the day off to vote, you’re helping your interests.
I think that’s usually the case for public holidays?
… just like the rest of the world already does 
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With a complete media blackout
Oregon saw two jumps in voter turnout: one with vote-by-mail, another with automatic voter registration. Oregon had <50% voter turnout prior to VbM, it rose to 60%+, and now sits close to 70% with AVR.
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I love boycotting the local ER…
I get the sentiment, but a lot of people do have positions that require someone to be at them 24/7.
And divorcing it from Selective Service. I don’t know that too many of my peers understood exactly what a draft was at 18. But the Vietnam draft had a BIG impact on our parents. A lot of guys I knew from highschool didn’t register to vote early on because they refused to sign up for Selective Services. And a good number of kids weren’t allowed to register to vote.
Though it was sort of on people’s minds post 9/11. The draft is ridiculously unpopular, even with the military. When serious concerns about a draft for Iraq and Afghanistan started to crop up. My mother revealed that my parents had already figured out a plan for us to avoid a draft a long time ago. Involved picking up Irish dual citizen ship and sending us to live with a specific relative. And I come from a military family.
Yeah all those low wage workers who will get fired or lose a days pay for going to the polls are totally malingering. Why the way the GOP has shut down as many polling places as possible to make sure it can be several hours just to get to a polling place is no obstacle at all if you really love democracy. And those restaurant industry workers living pay check to pay check while they’re excepted from most labor protections should just walk away from their jobs.
The problem with making Election Day a holiday is that the people most in need of an election day holiday. The people with jobs and lives that make it difficult to get to the polls. Are the people most likely to end up working Federal Holidays. The people we most need to enfranchise, the ones most being denied their voting rights. Are the ones who don’t get days off.
Strategies like early voting days and vote by mail tend to work a bit better at raising turn out and making sure everyone gets a proper chance to vote. Which is why the GOP spends so much time demonizing them and trying to reverse them.
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Do you also sometimes get the impression that telling Americans* how the rest of the world does something just makes them that less interested in adopting a best practice?
I’m using “Americans” to refer to a small but vocal subset of the population population not on an individual or general sense. Most people here are pretty sensible and would understand the difference but I’d rather make this clear in case I am misrepresenting my own position due to a gap in my knowledge of the language and culture.
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Oh, absolutely. The “Not Invented Here” syndrome has a powerful hold on some people’s minds. There are several other prominent examples of the same thing, including firearms control, health care, and freedom.
Still, I do think it’s worth noting that many seemingly intractable problems are actually already solved issues.
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The local transport service around here is fairfax connector.
How do I know if my route will operate?_
Fairfax Connector buses operate 365 days a year. However, on some holidays buses operate a different level of service.
Please check your route’s schedule to see whether it is weekday-only service, or if it also includes Saturday and Sunday service.
so if you rely on a specific route to get to the polls-- and it doesn’t run on holidays, it’s a problem. Luckily, I can walk to the polling station
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I honestly don’t feel like I need the whole day but at least a couple hours mandatory leave certainly would be nice.
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‘Compulsory’ voting in Australia: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-07/why-do-we-have-compulsory-voting/7484390
And here: https://www.aec.gov.au/About_Aec/Publications/voting/index.htm
Note that there is no way that a valid vote can be enforced - ballots can be left blank or feature anything that you care to write or draw on them.
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Yeah, onya.
I disagree regarding the holiday, because that would aid the rich’s voting and harm the poor. On Christmas, every white collar worker has the day off but can still go to the grocery, the liquor store, the mall, a restaurant, etc. and get help from an employed person getting a low hourly wage. And that’s Christmas when most people are not out shopping and most businesses don’t see any increase in sales. Tack on police, janitors, EMTs, and other jobs that never get a day off.
On an election day, even fewer businesses would close. It would become a wonderful opportunity for wealthy people to shop – ELECTION DAY SALE! – or go out for a special meal and as a result retail and service businesses would have to ramp up staff as oppose to give them the day off. So the white collar folks spent 10 minutes voting then go have a holiday, and the blue collar and service folks have a regular work day around which they have to shoehorn in voting.
And if you do it on a weekday, now you’ve closed the schools and parents have to add child care to their burden. So if they still have to go to work at the restaurant, plus arrange drop off and pick up child care, it’s actually a harder day to vote than a normal first Tuesday in November.
This is a great way to help Republicans win elections – make it easier for the rich to vote, and harder for the poor.
A far better strategy is to have polls open for many days so people can vote early, and also allow mail-in ballots for any reason. This way everyone can pick their time to vote, even 3 a.m. on a Sunday at the kitchen table, and ensure their ballot is counted. No emergency surgery, no kid falling down and breaking an arm, no sudden change in work shift will prevent voting because it’s simple and can be done at the voter’s whim.
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Many states – in fact most now – have early voting or mail in voting that allow people to vote at their leisure.
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