# Should businesses be required to give Election Day off with pay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 22, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921 "2014-12-22T16:28:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/41 "2014-12-23T00:44:47Z")
Why not have the election on a Saturday? Works OK in Australia. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/42 "2014-12-23T00:52:14Z")
This is a patently ridiculous idea in 2014. Absentee voting has already been invented and it’s much cheaper. There’s absolutely no reason to arbitrarily charge each business a full day’s pay for each worker to make it easier to vote when it can be made just as easy for the price of a couple of stamps. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/43 "2014-12-23T02:31:07Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Election day should be a national holiday, so yes, everyone should be able to participate without fear of retribution How does voting make someone subject to retribution? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/44 "2014-12-23T02:47:10Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > How does voting make someone subject to retribution? 😕 I think the idea is that taking time off to vote can be perceived negatively by one’s employer. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/45 "2014-12-23T02:55:53Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I think the idea is that taking time off to vote can be perceived negatively by one’s employer. That’s a odd view. Not sure how it rises to the level of “retribution” though. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/46 "2014-12-23T11:18:06Z")
I agree voting day should be a national holiday (as it is here in South Africa) Voting is something that should be celebrated by the country as a whole, much more so than some preacher’s fictitious birthday or a bunch of colonialists having dinner. Jeez, what does America have against holidays, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/47 "2014-12-23T11:51:04Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I agree voting day should be a national holiday (as it is here in South Africa) Voting is something that should be celebrated by the country as a whole, much more so than some preacher’s fictitious birthday or a bunch of colonialists having dinner. But those _aren’t_ aren’t national holidays in the US. The US doesn’t have national holidays. The government has holidays for its workers and generally doesn’t care what the rest of us do on those days. Some of those holidays are very popular and some of them are invisible unless you’re expecting mail or you need a government service. The basic concept of the government giving people a paid day off doesn’t exist here, so if you want to create it, you’re going to need a more compelling reason than the small number of people who have a hard time voting on election day. Especially when stamps solve that problem and cost 49 cents. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/48 "2014-12-23T12:05:58Z")
You know, the birth of a mythological figure which may or may not actually have existed in the first place (as well as his death) gets a paid day off in virtually every industry. Given that, I think it’s kind of _incredibly ridiculous_ to complain about giving the single most important day for democracy in America (which happens only once every two years) the same treatment. Hell, you could make “actually voting” a predicate for getting the day off. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/49 "2014-12-23T12:43:45Z")
For a very, very popular religious and non-religious events like Christmas or Thanksgiving, a Federal holiday allows people to do what they were overwhelmingly likely to do anyway. For Election Day, the idea of making it a holiday is that more people would vote, right? Well, why would they do that? Is work such a serious impediment to voting that it causes a significant percentage to the population to be unable to make it to the polls? I don’t think that’s true. I think most non-voters simply feel no stake in the process, like that their vote doesn’t really count. If Election Day were a holiday, I would bet a good number of people would take a vacation day on Monday and treat it as a four day weekend. What’s the point of that? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/50 "2014-12-23T12:47:23Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > You know, the birth of a mythological figure which may or may not actually have existed in the first place (as well as his death) gets a paid day off in virtually every industry. Given that, I think it’s kind of _incredibly ridiculous_ to complain about giving the single most important day for democracy in America (which happens only once every two years) the same treatment. Hell, you could make “actually voting” a predicate for getting the day off. If you could mail Christmas for 49 cents and it was exactly equal in effect to Christmas in person, it would be incredibly ridiculous for it to be a paid\* day off. \*“Virtually every” industry has Christmas as a paid day off? [Nearly a quarter of American workers](http://theweek.com/article/index/244771/americas-war-on-vacation-by-the-numbers) get zero paid days off. I think that should change, although I don’t like the idea of the government deciding _which_ days you get off. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/51 "2014-12-23T13:57:16Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > But those _aren’t_ aren’t national holidays in the US. The US doesn’t have national holidays. Huh, learn something new every day. And now I have so much more pity for the non-Federal American worker (and I already pitied them a hell of a lot, what with fire-at-will and no minimum annual leave) The lady who cleans the floors at my office has a better labour setup than the American office worker, it seems. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/52 "2014-12-23T14:29:12Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The lady who cleans the floors at my office has a better labour setup than the American office worker, it seems. It’s different for sure, but in practice many (not all or even most) have it pretty good. I’d love more vacation but I have near infinite flexibility to work out any arrangement with my boss as long as I get my work done. ---
**Author:** ![kurtisokc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kurtisokc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kurtisokc)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/53 "2014-12-23T15:52:43Z")
> [@Cyros](#): > > Instead of the whole day off you could determine a reasonable length of time for voting and legislate to ensure that employees must be given that time off. > > In Canada, by law, employees must be given 3 consecutive hours to vote. If polls are open from 830am to 830pm and your shift runs from 11am to 7pm then your employer must give you time off with pay to vote. It is the employers choice as to when they provide the time off (1/2 hour at the beginning of the shift, 1 1/2 hours at the end or 3 hours in the middle) allowing them to accommodate their business needs. That’s pretty much what my state does. Employers must allow each employee enough time off so that everyone has at least a 2-hour block of time off-work on election day while the polls are open. I think this is more than sufficient. There isn’t any reason to give everyone the whole day off. As has already been mentioned, voting just doesn’t take that long. While I don’t object in principle to the idea of having a holiday to “celebrate democracy” I do question whether it is necessary in order to get people to vote (especially in light of the widespread adoption of early voting and easy access to absentee ballots.) I also doubt it would have any effect on participation rates. If someone isn’t motivated enough to go out and vote as it is now, giving him the day off isn’t going to make a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby\_Slippers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/94ad74/32.png) [@Ruby\_Slippers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby_Slippers)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/54 "2014-12-23T16:38:42Z")
This appears to be the rare issue on which most conservatives and most liberals agree – it’s not necessary to give everyone an entire day off with pay just to get them to vote. I agree with those who say that it might actually reduce voter participation since people would make other plans for the day. People who care about voting will find a way to vote. It’s not that difficult with absentee ballots plus early voting in many locations. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/55 "2014-12-23T16:56:54Z")
The overwhelming response here that voting is not that difficult and a paid holiday is not necessary. But somehow requiring an ID is beyond the pale. Seems inconsistent to me. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/56 "2014-12-23T17:00:45Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > The overwhelming response here that voting is not that difficult and a paid holiday is not necessary. But somehow requiring an ID is beyond the pale. Seems inconsistent to me. Well, there’s a non sequitur for you. 🙂 I really don’t see any connection between the two topics other than both are about voting. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/57 "2014-12-23T17:07:20Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > The overwhelming response here that voting is not that difficult and a paid holiday is not necessary. But somehow requiring an ID is beyond the pale. Seems inconsistent to me. Why? Do you think a legal ID ought to be required for a person to have a day off of work? ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/58 "2014-12-23T17:10:53Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Well, there’s a non sequitur for you. 🙂 > > I really don’t see any connection between the two topics other than both are about voting. Really? Voting is easy enough, people who want to vote will find a way to make the time, it’s cheap, there are multiple ways to complete the process of voting. All of these reasons are given to support the idea that a day off isn’t necessary. All of them apply to acquiring a proper ID. > [@Ravenman](#): > > Why? Do you think a legal ID ought to be required for a person to have a day off of work? You need an ID to work most regular jobs so yes. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/59 "2014-12-23T17:16:59Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > You need an ID to work most regular jobs so yes. So if someone doesn’t have an ID, they have to work every day. What the hell…? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921/60 "2014-12-23T17:19:45Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Do you think a legal ID ought to be required for a person to have a day off of work? Since 1986, a legal ID is required to work in the first place. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-businesses-be-required-to-give-election-day-off-with-pay/707921.md?page=4)