Election Day a paid holiday

[af1212]

I love this!! Sandusky Ohio is giving up Columbus Day as a paid holiday and making Election Day a paid holiday instead!

www.npr.org/2019/02/08/692771542/sandusky-ohio-makes-election-day-a-paid-holiday-by-swapping-out-columbus-day

As a teacher, I would have loved this! I hated havingnoff from school on Columbus Day and I always had to work on Election Day although students were off. This gives school kids an extra day of school iknthe fall which is great, and is such a great step to increase the ability of so many to vote. And at the very least it gives Election Day more weight and importance.

[cville]

Columbus was a shit person so I'm extra in to this swap.

[af1212]

Feb 8, 2019 19:38:32 GMT -5 cville said:

Columbus was a shit person so I'm extra in to this swap.

Yes exactly!! Like why should that be a paid holiday but Election Day is not? Finally makes sense this way.

[katfco]

Columbus, Ohio schools, oddly enough, doesn't have Columbus Day off. The kids have Election Day off, but we have it as a PD day. I think it's mostly because some schools are used as polling places.

[VillainV]

There was a great episode of Today, Explained (podcast) around the midterms about how Australia has compulsory voting and hold their elections on the weekend. They offer all kinds of ways to make voting fun and easy, like bringing mobile polling centers to places like hospitals and holding large community barbecues at neighborhood polling centers. They have a voting rate in excess of 95%.

The shitty part is that there are LOTS of Americans who honestly do not want everyone to cast a ballot, and I’m sure this prospect terrifies them. 5 years ago
I would have thought they would never openly admit that they don’t want people voting, but in 2019 I’m sure they could say it openly and still get elected...

[goldengirlz]

Does anyone have any thoughts about this counter-argument?

www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/no-election-day-should-not-be-a-federal-holiday.html

Tl;dr is that if Election Day were a paid holiday, it would only increase voting among white-collar workers, while retailers would use the day to launch massive sales and require employees to cover shifts.

I’m not sure what to make of that one. But I do think more states need to offer protected paid time off to vote. At a minimum.

[ESF]

Feb 8, 2019 21:15:41 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Does anyone have any thoughts about this counter-argument?

www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/no-election-day-should-not-be-a-federal-holiday.html

Tl;dr is that if Election Day were a paid holiday, it would only increase voting among white-collar workers, while retailers would use the day to launch massive sales and require employees to cover shifts.

I’m not sure what to make of that one. But I do think more states need to offer protected paid time off to vote. At a minimum.

Another argument against it that I've read:

Many cities have reduced public transit schedules on federal holidays. That makes it difficult for a whole mess of voters to get to the polls.

[goldengirlz]

Truthfully I think more states should follow California’s example. Election Day should be the end of a month-long period when you can vote by mail or in person (and maybe eventually online?) at your convenience.

That makes the discussion of a federal holiday moot. I’m on board with replacing Columbus Day though.

[penguingrrl]

Feb 8, 2019 21:15:41 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Does anyone have any thoughts about this counter-argument?

www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/no-election-day-should-not-be-a-federal-holiday.html

Tl;dr is that if Election Day were a paid holiday, it would only increase voting among white-collar workers, while retailers would use the day to launch massive sales and require employees to cover shifts.

I’m not sure what to make of that one. But I do think more states need to offer protected paid time off to vote. At a minimum.

I’ve long seen that as likely, and a reason not to make Election Day a national holiday. Honestly, I think long periods of early voting is a far better answer than making it a federal holiday.

[bronxgirl]

Feb 8, 2019 21:02:22 GMT -5 VillainV said:

The shitty part is that there are LOTS of Americans who honestly do not want everyone to cast a ballot, and I’m sure this prospect terrifies them. 5 years ago
I would have thought they would never openly admit that they don’t want people voting, but in 2019 I’m sure they could say it openly and still get elected...

Like Mitch McConnell for instance

[isabel]

Feb 8, 2019 21:33:10 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Truthfully I think more states should follow California’s example. Election Day should be the end of a month-long period when you can vote by mail or in person (and maybe eventually online?) at your convenience.

That makes the discussion of a federal holiday moot. I’m on board with replacing Columbus Day though.

Yeah... Colorado has mail in voting and our turn out numbers have increased drastically. It is so damn easy to vote here. I would love to see every state do Mail in/drop off voting.

[lilibet]

Feb 8, 2019 21:15:41 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Tl;dr is that if Election Day were a paid holiday, it would only increase voting among white-collar workers, while retailers would use the day to launch massive sales and require employees to cover shifts.

I think this is exactly what would happen. Dh used to work retail and the only days he got off were Thanksgiving and Christmas. Most of the other holidays they weren't allowed to even request time off because the store ran big sales (especially Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day). I can totally see stores just using this as an opportunity to extend Veteran Day sales or something.

I think extending early voting and making that more easily accessible is the better option.

[isabel]

Feb 8, 2019 21:39:30 GMT -5 bronxgirl said:

Feb 8, 2019 21:02:22 GMT -5 VillainV said:

The shitty part is that there are LOTS of Americans who honestly do not want everyone to cast a ballot, and I’m sure this prospect terrifies them. 5 years ago
I would have thought they would never openly admit that they don’t want people voting, but in 2019 I’m sure they could say it openly and still get elected...

Like Mitch McConnell for instance

Yep. This isn’t really a hypothetical. He straight up said this was basically a plot by Democrats to rig the vote. 😳

[redheadbaker]

Feb 8, 2019 21:24:36 GMT -5 ESF said:

Feb 8, 2019 21:15:41 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Does anyone have any thoughts about this counter-argument?

www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/no-election-day-should-not-be-a-federal-holiday.html

Tl;dr is that if Election Day were a paid holiday, it would only increase voting among white-collar workers, while retailers would use the day to launch massive sales and require employees to cover shifts.

I’m not sure what to make of that one. But I do think more states need to offer protected paid time off to vote. At a minimum.

Another argument against it that I've read:

Many cities have reduced public transit schedules on federal holidays. That makes it difficult for a whole mess of voters to get to the polls.

Maybe this is only my city, but polling places are generally close enough to walk to. Though probably not for the elderly and people with disabilities.

[Whitecaps]

All election days (May, August, November), or only November? I'm an election worker and it can get really bothersome to work a 16-hour day in August when only ~118 voters in the precinct show up. 

[fumbalina]

I think this might help, but I would rather see it over a several day period. I end up early voting here because if your address does not match your id then you will be turned away. As someone who was living in apartments, it was not common for that address to be right. That means that early voting was important for me this year. I looked it up and weekends were cut off from early voting--no explanation, but the reasoning is pretty clear. I live in Houston and where I used to early vote was affected by the Harvey flooding, and has been closed forever. It meant I had to find a location where I could go. The first three addresses were not legitimate, so I can imagine how difficult it would be for someone who worked regular hours and had less access to a vehicle.

I did work retail, and it is true that people usually can not request the day off, and I do not think there is a real way to regulate that there are no sales that day, even though that might help. I know employers are supposed to make sure to give you time off during voting hours, but that does not always happen. I suppose polling places could also be opened later or earlier, but that requires even more people at the polling places, so I am really not sure what the best solution is.

[RoxMonster]

In IL we have early voting for about six weeks before each election. It includes weekend hours, which is when I always vote. We also have the mail-in ballots that you just fill out at home. I love it! No more lines on Election Day or getting up early to try and go before work. It allows people who absolutely can't go on Election Day a chance to vote in one way or another. I wish all states did it this way.

[dorothyinAus]

Feb 8, 2019 21:02:22 GMT -5 VillainV said:

There was a great episode of Today, Explained (podcast) around the midterms about how Australia has compulsory voting and hold their elections on the weekend. They offer all kinds of ways to make voting fun and easy, like bringing mobile polling centers to places like hospitals and holding large community barbecues at neighborhood polling centers. They have a voting rate in excess of 95%.

The shitty part is that there are LOTS of Americans who honestly do not want everyone to cast a ballot, and I’m sure this prospect terrifies them. 5 years ago
I would have thought they would never openly admit that they don’t want people voting, but in 2019 I’m sure they could say it openly and still get elected...

With the exception of the November Election Day, Louisiana votes on Saturdays. I have always said the rest of the country should get on board with Saturday voting.

And Election Day in Australia is pretty fun. Sausage Sizzles are great. Lately, there have been apps rating the polling places by their sausage sizzle offerings. You can vote at any polling place in your electorate; you don't have to go to specific ones. Sausage Sizzles are usually fundraisers for the local footy teams or other local committees, they are not run by the political parties or governments. Also, the political parties can hand out "how to vote cards" while you are standing in line to get your ballot. That was very strange for someone from Louisiana where there is a prohibition against electioneering for 600 feet around polling places.

However, the voter turnout is a bit misleading, because that makes people believe that everyone is engaged and everyone votes. That's simply not true. You do not have to vote, all you have to do is receive a ballot and get your name marked off a list. Failure to do so without good cause will result in a fine for everyday you fail to "vote." But once you receive your ballot you can do whatever you want with it - make paper airplanes, draw a big dick on it, tear it into pieces, you do not have to cast a valid ballot.

Also, Australia has Preferential Voting, so you have to rank all the candidates on the ballot in your preferred order. This can take a long time and can result in a number of spoiled ballots, especially in Senate races where there are well over 100 candidates running for 6-12 positions. (Voting "above the line" is an option, but by doing that you have the political parties pick your preferences, and they do not have to publish how they allot preferences, so you are literally turning your vote over to someone else.) Last election, it took my husband over half an hour to vote AND none of the polling places in our electorate had a sausage sizzle!

[mrsukyankee]

In England:
- you register once in your lifetime. You can easily change your address online or, I believe, at the Post Office.
- to register, you need a National Insurance Number - it's not difficult to get as you get one automatically sent to you before your 16th birthday. If you move from another country, you can get one using your passport.
- you can vote in person, by mail or by proxy
- polls are open from 7am to 10pm which allows more people to vote. You do not need to bring any id to your voting place as you will receive a polling card at your address (homeless can register in specific places as their home addresses so they too can vote).

It truly was the easiest voting I've ever experience. You vote using a pen and paper.

[cattledogkisses]

Feb 8, 2019 21:33:10 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Truthfully I think more states should follow California’s example. Election Day should be the end of a month-long period when you can vote by mail or in person (and maybe eventually online?) at your convenience.

That makes the discussion of a federal holiday moot. I’m on board with replacing Columbus Day though.

I like this voting strategy.

As for Columbus Day, several cities and towns in my state have replaced it with Indigenous Peoples' Day, and I'd totally support that at the national level.

[macmars45]

Feb 8, 2019 21:56:55 GMT -5 isabel said:

Feb 8, 2019 21:33:10 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Truthfully I think more states should follow California’s example. Election Day should be the end of a month-long period when you can vote by mail or in person (and maybe eventually online?) at your convenience.

That makes the discussion of a federal holiday moot. I’m on board with replacing Columbus Day though.

Yeah... Colorado has mail in voting and our turn out numbers have increased drastically. It is so damn easy to vote here. I would love to see every state do Mail in/drop off voting.

WA state has mail in voting as well. And drop boxes are seemingly everywhere or you can mail it from your own mailbox. I love it!

[ESF]

Feb 8, 2019 22:37:30 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

Feb 8, 2019 21:24:36 GMT -5 ESF said:

Another argument against it that I've read:

Many cities have reduced public transit schedules on federal holidays. That makes it difficult for a whole mess of voters to get to the polls.

Maybe this is only my city, but polling places are generally close enough to walk to. Though probably not for the elderly and people with disabilities.

This is likely the case in places where Democrats have some control.

It’s not the case in cities everywhere. There were reports in 2018 about how Kansas closed a bunch of polling places in the Latino area of Dodge City and they had to travel an hour outside of it to vote.

The real solution is to have a shit ton of polling places that are adequately staffed. It it were easy to go vote after work, then it wouldn’t matter if it was a holiday or not.

[Deleted]

Honestly, I think extended early voting options are more important than Election Day being a holiday. This country sucks at holidays. How many service industry workers do you know who get Labor Day off? Unless the government mandates that private businesses close (and also runs public transit at a normal weekday frequency), then a holiday isn’t that helpful.

Don’t get me wrong - I’m all for renaming Columbus Day. (But selfishly I want to keep the holiday in October because November already has 2 federal holidays anyway.) I just think that expanding early voting is a better use of resources than making Election Day a holiday.

[sparrowsong]

Or mail ballots for everyone. Both states I’ve lived in have had this so I don’t quite understand the people who are facing the voter suppression techniques of not having a polling place near by or on a bus route etc. make it as easy for rural areas as downtown city in every state.

[VillainV]

Another benefit of mail-in voting is that you can sit down with your ballot and research all of the issues before you vote. Not that you can’t research if you’re voting at a polling place, but then you have to remember everything.

One downside is that sometimes info comes out about a candidate after you’ve already cast your ballot

[mouse]

Another advantage to vote by mail/drop off is it saves millions. Surely fiscal conservatives can get behind that. /sarcasm

[Jalapeñomel]

I’d like to have Election Day off so I can help out at the polls or getting people to the polling place.

[seeyalater52]

I agree that naming Election Day as a national holiday isn’t the most effective route, but the alternative solutions being discussed in this thread that are better are under the purview of STATE governments. Unless there is a radical change to allow the federal government to have more control over how states conduct voting for federal elections I’m not sure how exactly we address that challenge. The federal government currently has very little control over how states conduct elections.

ETA: switching Election Day to a weekend would be in federal control but that also is problematic for the largely blue collar workers and shift workers who work weekends, so still definitely favors white collar folks. And also many areas have limited public transit on weekends which is another complicating factor. There’s really no perfect federal solution as long as states have control over most of the details but I’m wondering if there could be a federal requirement for something like multiple official election dates over a period of time - like 2 Saturdays and two weekday days all in the span of 2 weeks.

[heat40]

Colombia has elections on sundays, and I’ve always wondered why we couldn’t do that.
I think having early voting and then elections on sundays is a great idea.

[Jalapeñomel]

Feb 9, 2019 13:11:01 GMT -5 heat40 said:

Colombia has elections on sundays, and I’ve always wondered why we couldn’t do that.
I think having early voting and then elections on sundays is a great idea.

Peru does this too, and retail, everything shuts down.