Should elections be national holidays?

[MissCatholic]

The bottom line is that same day registration gets on Republican nerves for instance in Wisconsin. While democrats get angry that Republican companies change the shift times 6 months before elections so that they cant go to the polls and vote.

Ohio opened at 9am-6pm (that gives a parent roughly 45 minutes to pick up their child from childcare and then go and vote. Dont worry you have to do it in evening traffic also!)

So lets be fair and make elections national holidays.

[Gabu]

Yes, I don't think that it would really hurt things, and I think that it's good for democracy to give everyone an equal chance to vote.

[Ebowed]

Yes.

[Alcon]

Totally.  Plus we'd have less instances like we do every election season of election workers saying "it's OK, at this rate we'll never run out of supplies" and then realizing that after 5 PM things speed up quickly, and they don't have time to fix errors.

This happens with provisional ballots constantly and making Election Day a holiday would increase turnout and help slow things down to a more reasonable pace.

The day after election night should also be a national holiday - "Recount Day."

[MissCatholic]

Has anyone ever found the reason why we have to have results in before midnight. Why dont polls open till 10pm they do in England.

[MaC]

yes, take of school and work if you need to.  Of course some businesses would stay open, but they'd allow you time to vote.  Doing this would definitely favor higher turnouts.

[Gabu]

yes, take of school and work if you need to.  Of course some businesses would stay open, but they'd allow you time to vote.  Doing this would definitely favor higher turnouts.

I'm curious: do you have any allowances for people who have full-time jobs who want to vote?  Here in Canada, people are allowed to take a maximum of four hours off work on an election day to give them ample time to vote.  I haven't heard of anything like that in America.

[dazzleman]

The polls need to be open long enough for people to work and vote.  Either that or make it a holiday, but I don't think making it a holiday is really necessary.  Keep in mind that some people are required to work even on holidays.

[David S]

As I recall the polls are open from about 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
That should cover everyone. If you make it a new holiday does the employer have to pay for it? Just as a ballpark guess say 100 million employees nationwide times 100 bucks for a day. That's ten billion dollars, and that's a conservative estimate.

[A18]

Forcing businesses to recognize a holiday is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard.

[TheresNoMoney]

I would like to see automatic voter registration (for any American citizen age 18 and over) and required time off to vote on election day.

We should strive to have as many people vote as possible.

[Defarge]

Yes.  Why discourage people from participating in the process?

[A18]

No one's discouraging. Just not encouraging.

[Frodo]

Yes, most definitely.  It could improve turnout, and actually allow people to have more time to research candidates and make educated decisions as opposed to voting solely on the basis of party affiliation.    

[A18]

Why dilute the power of people who care enough to vote? More importantly, why do you have such totalitarian leanings?

[MODU]

Polls here in Virginia are open before I go to work.  I can go in at 6am, fill out my ballot, and head right on in to DC without interrupting my schedule.  However, I think the day should be a national holiday just so people would understand how important it is for people to do their responsibility as citizens and vote.

[A18]

It is NOT a citizen's responsibility to vote. In fact, it's your responsibility NOT to vote unless you know what you're talking about, which most people do not.

You have absolutely no moral obligation to vote, and voting for someone just to further your interests is actually immoral by any sane, consistent standard I can think of, but for some reason people like to make exceptions for government.

[MODU]

I view it differently.  The country has give you so many things, that as citizens, it is your job to be informed and to actively serve the nation by being active in it, which includes voting.  People love to complain about the government and the country, but fail to do their part to make their voice heard.

[dazzleman]

Polls here in Virginia are open before I go to work.  I can go in at 6am, fill out my ballot, and head right on in to DC without interrupting my schedule.  However, I think the day should be a national holiday just so people would understand how important it is for people to do their responsibility as citizens and vote.

A national holiday is just another day off.  I don't think it would increase voter participation one iota.  The obstacles that people claim keep them from voting are just cheap excuses.  Remove them, and they'll find another obstacle.  I think we're better off without lazy, dysfunctional people voting in large numbers in any case.

[Emsworth]

You have absolutely no moral obligation to vote, and voting for someone just to further your interests is actually immoral by any sane, consistent standard I can think of...

On the contrary, a rational being would not intentionally to the detriment of his own interests. One is not, in my opinion, morally obligated to vote contrary to one's own interests, just as one is not morally obligated to give charity. Decrying a particular vote as immoral strikes me as arbitrary and capricious.

I agree, though, that citizens are not morally obligated to vote in the first place.

[Nym90]

Yes, I would support this. It wouldn't make a huge difference, but it would encourage more people to vote who currently don't have the time. That isn't a large number of people, but it is some, and giving Americans another day of paid time off doesn't bother me.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Yes, I would support this. It wouldn't make a huge difference, but it would encourage more people to vote who currently don't have the time. That isn't a large number of people, but it is some, and giving Americans another day of paid time off doesn't bother me.

Agree. Great to see you back, btw

[Nym90]

Thanks, Al. I should be on a bit more often now. I think I'm going to stay away from fantasy politics, but hope to be participating in the other sections of the Forum.

[KEmperor]

It's not a bad idea, but polling is open here from 6am to 9pm.  If you can't get to the polls over this time period, you aren't trying hard enough.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I should be on a bit more often now.

Good to hear