Purple: Sunday (46 countries)
Pink: Multiple Days
Red: Monday (4 countries)
Orange: Tuesday (3 countries: Denmark, Israel and the USA)
Yellow: Wednesday (4 countries)
Green: Thursday (2 countries)
Blue: Friday (2 countries)
Navy: Saturday (9 countries)
Just because we’ve been doing the same thing for a hundred years doesn’t mean we shouldn’t embrace change.
Every wonder why we vote on Tuesdays? The answer lies with America’s 19th-century farmers. Americans first began the custom of weekday voting in 1845 when Congress passed a federal law designating the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November as Election Day.
We were an agrarian society. We traveled by horse and buggy. Farmers needed a day to get to the county seat, a day to vote, and a day to get back, without interfering with the three days of worship. So that left Tuesday and Wednesday, but Wednesday was market day. So, Tuesday it was.
That was then. Today we are an urban society, and we all know how hard it is to commute to our jobs, take care of the children, and get our work done, let alone stand in line to vote. Indeed, Census data over the last decade clearly indicates that the inconvenience of voting is the primary reason Americans are not participating in our elections. Only 41% did in the Alabama Primary March 1 and that was a record.
New York Times – Everybody’s Voting for the Weekend
ABC News – Voting on the Weekend? Democrats Eye a New Election Day
Off the Kuff – If you really want to improve turnout in city elections
To fix low voter turnout, is answer changing election date?
Governing – The Wrong Ways to Elect America’s Mayors
Councilman looking to boost poor voter turnout by changing municipal election date
Election date change to hike voter turnout would have other effects: Dan Walters
Anchorage Assembly reconsiders decision to change municipal election dates
Royal Palm to consider changing its municipal election date
MSNBC – Georgia GOP dusts off Jim Crow tactic: Changing election date
Here Are Five Common Voter Suppression Tactics To Watch For
Washington Post – Where does America’s low voter turnout matter the most? In local elections
Moving local elections from spring to fall approved by Kansas Senate
Moving local elections — the costs, changes, upsides and downsides
Oklahomans strongly favor moving local school board election to November ballot
City of Sarasota considers moving election dates
Why do we vote on Tuesdays? And why do states pay for primaries?
NPR – Why Do We Vote On Tuesdays?
NPR – Several States, Some Employers Help Workers Make Time To Vote
joemcelligott.com 