countries where election day is a national holiday

[8][15] A holiday for elections sidesteps the issue of a weekend election, which could conflict with religious obligations. [ 18][ 19] Con 1 History of Election Day And that election saw the second highest voter turnout in 20 years. That means the stock market will be open, and so will. 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, . They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Explain your answers. This map, inspired by a Reddit thread with a similar map, shows the national days of the world's countries. 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. Mr. CHRISTENSEN: One of the biggest countries that uses compulsory voting is Australia. [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. The pros and cons of the felon voting debate include arguments about the social contract, voting while in prison, and paying debts. 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%. But experts say improving voter turnout is a complicated issue that no single silver bullet strategy can solve. And in Australia, there is a fine. But some think it should be. Four more states only provide time off for biennial, even-year elections: Delaware, Louisiana, Michigan and New Hampshire. - 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. Election Day is a state holiday in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York. Countries like Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico also showed high voter turnout rates by having holidays. They stated, Citizen Day would do more than give our democracy the honor that it deserves; it would help our democracy work better. Saturday, but can be any day of the week, such as when a Saturday conflicts with a holiday. Before that point, states could hold their presidential elections on any day within a certain 34-day window. According to Pew Research data, US voter turnout trails most developed countries. 14, 2019, BBC, "Singapore Election: Governing Party Secure Decisive Win, bbc.com, Sep. 12, 2015, Holly Jackson, "It's Time to Make Election Day a Holiday in Law and Spirit," washingtonpost.com, Oct. 22, 2018, BCP Associates, "India Elections 2019 - Declaration of Paid Holiday on Polling Day, bcpassociates.com, Apr. Should the United States Use the Electoral College in Presidential Elections? [1], An election day usually culminates in an election night when the results of the election are tallied and winners are announced.[2]. Its hard to say. But Gupta said that there's been a "lack of political will" to give the initiative some momentum. ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Voter turnout in the United States is usually considered low, especially in years without a presidential election. 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. 3) Britain and Denmark have no national days. According to the country's website detailing their "digital society," online voting has soared from 1.9% in 2005 to 30.5% in 2015. Election Day is always the first Tuesday after November 1st. Consider the potential benefits and difficulties of changing election day. Argentina has instated compulsory voting laws, but only sees about 76% voter turnout. President Obama likes the idea of changing the way or the day Americans vote. Mail-in voting starts 1 month before polls open. 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. 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. Twenty-seven of the 36 member countries, hold their elections on the weekend. And some countries, like Australia, require people to vote by subjecting those who dont to a minor fine equivalent to a traffic ticket. Tuesday was selected because it was the most convenient. Rather, federal elections are held on the third Monday of October, every four years . However, some countries, or regions within a country, which hold elections on a weekday declare election day a public holiday. 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. 4. Declaring Election Day a holiday has been proposed various times in Congress; it's a popular idea. 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? 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. [14], Pew Research Center found that 71% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans support making Election Day a federal holiday. [25], According to the AFL-CIO, 30 states require employers to allow employees time off for voting. 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. In 2018, the general election was held on Wednesday. And even a number of the blue countries, such as Australia and Canada, are actually the product of colonialism. 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. The number of early votes cast before Election Day 2020, as of Nov. 1, neared the 100 million mark according to data aggregated by the U.S. Passing voting rights reform will be a crucial component of this response, as would making Election Day a national holiday. OK, so why Tuesday? 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. 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. of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents and 59% of Republicans and GOP leaners said they would support making Election Day a national holiday. There's nothing that would stop voters here from treating a Democracy Day like just another day off.". [15] A survey showed that US adults would rather have a federal holiday on Election Day than on Christmas Eve, the Friday after Thanksgiving, or St. Patricks day. As old as all of these societies are, their senses of national identity are commemorated by remarkably recent events. Tuesday is Election Day, but only in some parts of the country will voters get the day off to cast their ballots. So the question of how you label Ireland goes back to which holiday you consider its national day. Regional Belgian public holidays during 2023. So, workers having a day off to vote wouldn't be a disruption to the economy, or anything a citizen of our country could deny would be worthwhile and smart thing to do. In 2018, a Pewstudy found that 65% of Americans favored making Election Day a national holiday. For rest of the festival holidays the declaration . In the 2016 presidential election, 14% of registered voters cited being too busy or having a conflicting schedule as the main reason they didnt cast their ballots, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data. There are many ways to boost voter turnout expanding early voting, automatically registering voters, and improving civic education programs . 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. Others say a holiday would disadvantage low-income and blue collar workers and corporations should have better policies for voting time off. In the 2016 election, only 56% of voting-age Americans cast their ballots. Proponents say the Electoral College ensures everyone selects the president. Nine states classify general elections as holidays: Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia. American election laws have been reformed before with minimal impact on voter turnout which remains low compared to other democracies around the world. However, making National Election Day a holiday will disadvantage low-income and blue . For other uses, see. I think, to the best of my knowledge, it's something like $20. 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. These include national, state, and local government representatives at all levels up to the president. Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. 3. Making the presidential election a national holiday is another way to get people to the polls. An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation.Many countries commemorate their independence from a colonial empire.. Not all countries mark independence as a national holiday. While young people are generally less likely to vote, they are more motivated by the issue of freedom of speech than older generations. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Approximately two million people who work for the federal government would be given a paid day off, and private companies might follow suit. Some say a holiday would increase voter turnout by enabling more people to vote while celebrating democracy. South Africa's is from the first democratic elections, in 1994. 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. 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. [16]. Election Day is already a holiday for state employees in more than a dozen states including Kentucky, Michigan, and New York. Some countries, including Belgium and Turkey, see such high voter turnout mainly because of their compulsory voting laws. This year, Election . 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 correct answer is B. Advertisement Advertisement marberman marberman 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. Other politicians, businesses, and advocacy groups have voiced their approval of celebrating Election Day as a national holiday. Think of things such as voter ID laws, lowering the voting age, and abolishing the Electoral College. 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. Most others are not so recent, but still not so old: Taiwan's, for example, goes back to a 1911 uprising. And even if it were a federal holiday, that wouldn't ensure that all voting-age Americans would have the day off. 1, which adds a new paid holiday for federal employees every other year. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. 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. The U.S. is one of only nine member nations that have weekday voting. Last Tuesday was election day in the United States, and this year we voted in the midterm elections. This article is about the general term "election day" worldwide. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. Most National Days are fixed, exceptions to this are shown below. In an interview published Thursday, President Obama endorsed the idea of holding U.S. federal elections on weekends or national holidays. Until 2009, elections were held over several consecutive Sundays. 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. 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. The Freedom to Vote Act would make Election Day a national holiday. Examine this opinion article from Evil HR Lady Suzanne Lucas on why election day should not be 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. This . Some countries, about 27 of them, make voting compulsory. Because Saturday and Sunday are Sabbath days for devout Jews and Christians, elections would probably have to be held over the two-day period creating a need for more poll workers and a process for securing ballots overnight, Victoria Shineman, a University of Pittsburgh political science professor, wrote in The Washington Post.

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