Should Election day be a national holiday?

[JJChicken]

I strongly believe it should be because it gives more opportunity for people to vote and hence have their voice heard and it only happens once in four years so has hardly any impact on the economy. I guess the argument could be made that votes can go for early voting, but still I'd think alot more people would vote on election day if it was a national holiday.

Thoughts?

Also, should voting be complusory?

 

[retrospooty]

Absolutely... It would be great to have time to vote, and stand in line without stressing on work. Turnout would improve greatly.

 

[StageLeft]

Not a bad idea, I think it should be. Nobody pays any attention at work anyway and it gives time to vote. I see no problem with this at all.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

No(unless you get rid of all the early voting BS) and no.

 

[JJChicken]

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY
No and no.

Explain.

 

[Moonbeam]

Of course not. More two and three job working class democrats would vote, with all the attendant risks of economic justice and the end of the secret class war that is waged against them.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Of course not. More two and three job working class democrats would vote, with all the attendant risks of economic justice and the end of the secret class war that is waged against them.

Interesting point, I wonder how many cannot vote because of their jobs? If you're working a shift at a factory, you would be hard pressed to get the time.

 

[ebaycj]

100% yes.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I think the concern is that people would use the holiday specifically to go travel somewhere, or even take Monday off and give themselves a four-day weekend at the cabin or something.

 

[dmcowen674]

Many people can't take off from work eventhough it is supposedly required by law to get time to vote.

Many states have 3 hour or longer lines so they know they can't miss that much work.

 

[Thump553]

It will be. Part of the post-Florida election reform act is to move election day to the same as Veteran's Day (11/9) and make them an official holiday.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

Yes, it's just as important as any other federalized holiday (MLK, Prez's Day, etc)

 

[GTaudiophile]

Why not just move election day to Sunday like they do in Europe? Or Saturday for that matter?

 

[palehorse]

yes.

 

[aphex]

Yes, I think it should be.

 

[GTKeeper]

Yes.

I know that back in 2004 there were people still waiting to vote when polls closed on the east coast. Most people could not just take the day off, or basically were stuck in 3 hour long lines after 5pm.

It's everyone right to vote and I think the government should allow people to do just that. A holiday would be great.

 

[DefDC]

We should have a voting week (or at least 3 days), along with one of the days being a holiday. Putting voting day in the middle of the workweek is a slap in the face to the working people.

 

[nonameo]

I can't see how it would hurt to have it be a holiday.

 

[MovingTarget]

Yes. Many simply cannot get off of work long enough to vote. Sure, many companies do have policies that let you take an hour off or so (if you are salaried or aren't in the position of being one of the only people keeping a B&M location open), but lets face it, taking said time can be looked down upon as it is an "inconvenience" to the employer.

Why the hell is voting done on a Tuesday anyway?

 

[CptObvious]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Why not just move election day to Sunday like they do in Europe? Or Saturday for that matter?

I imagine there'd be resistance from religious groups who didn't want to vote on the 'Lord's day'.

 

[SP33Demon]

No but it should be recognized as respectfully voluntary (similar to Jewish holidays).

 

[ElFenix]

with two weeks of early voting is there really an issue with people not finding time to get to the polls?

 

[andy04]

a holiday is a bit too much, It should be on weekends IMO

 

[newmachineoverlord]

1. Yes it should be a holiday.
2. No it should not be compulsory.
3. Charging money for a state ID in a state where a photo ID is required to vote is a violation of the 24th amendment prohibiting poll taxes. In Indiana a non driver state ID costs 35$. Everbody in Indiana needs to sue the state government to get their 35$ back.

 

[crimson117]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Of course not. More two and three job working class democrats would vote, with all the attendant risks of economic justice and the end of the secret class war that is waged against them.

Interesting point, I wonder how many cannot vote because of their jobs? If you're working a shift at a factory, you would be hard pressed to get the time.

There are many states laws stating that employers must allow paid time off for voting.

"A majority of the states have laws requiring employers give employees time off to vote, particularly in situations where an employee's work hours do not permit sufficient time to vote during poll hours."

Sadly there are also many states without any such laws.