Most European countries have elections on Sunday, for pretty much the same reason.
While in some respects weekend voting makes a lot of sense, I can’t see it working here in the States very well. We love our Saturdays off, and I doubt many people would make a trek to the voting booth when they could be on their way to someplace really fun instead (like the mall).
Americans also have very conflicted ideas about Sunday. On the one hand, we flaunt the Separation of Church and State by forbidding prayer in public school or having the Ten Commandments posted on government property. Yet most states still have Blue Laws that restrict what can and can’t be sold on Sunday, mostly stemming from archaic attitudes about the Sabbath. Most states, for example, have some restriction on alcohol sales on Sunday. I can’t believe that no retail liquor store has challenged those laws as being non-constitutional…
Anyway, back to the topic at hand…
I personally think the best solution is to have extended voting periods, rather than expect everyone to be able to vote in the same 12-hour period. Some states already allow citizens to vote on any of a number of days. Oregon, for example, has a two-week voting period. All states probably have some kind of absentee ballot system, which IME is on an honor basis so you don’t actually have to prove you won’t be able to vote on election day. This would allow people more flexibility to fit voting into their schedule, rather than fit their schedule to voting.
So are you saying that France really shouldn’t have five separate holidays in May?
Actually, from other threads in this discussion, it sounds like the entire week should be a holiday, to allow voters to travel to and from the polling station. Don’t we wish.
Public schools are closed on election day for the main reason that many public schools are used as voting places. They are government property after all, and every neighborhood has a local, accessible public school. I can’t figure out why our community uses churches and union halls instead of schools, in fact.
Can I get a cite that the US forbids prayer in public schools and Ten Commandments posted on government property?
It is my understanding that anyone can pray in public schools so long as it is not a situation where a teacher is leading students in prayer, and so long as an individual praying does not disrupt class.
It is also my understanding that the Ten Commandments (any of the versions) are allowed on government property so long as they are not endorsing one religion above another. For example, if a courthouse has a display of historical codes of law throughout the ages consisting of the Code of Hammurabi and the Ten Commandments and others, then this passes constitutional muster.
It’s really just a matter of what people are used to doing. We Australians love our Saturdays off too, but nearly all of us (about 95% of the voting population) still manage to get to the polling booths and vote. If you’re doing something special on the Saturday of the election, as I was when we had our federal election on 9 October, you just get there early when the polls open at 8.00am and get it out of the way.
Here in Britain it can be any day Mr.Prime Minister decides it shall be although it’s traditionally been on Thursday. Whether it is right or not that Mr.PM can decide when the election should be(Usually just after his party are doing well or the opponents have just dropped themselves in it from a great height)
Also, who wants a holiday on a Tuesday? If we were given to taking the day off, we’d end up moving election day to a Monday for that three-day weekend. The next thing that’d happen is people would turn it into an excuse to travel, much like Memorial and Labor Day weekends, thus defeating the purpose of the holiday by having people out of town and thus not in a position to vote.
Another thing to consider is that in many places Early Voting is an option; you don’t need an excuse or a reason; just go vote! I really wish I had done this in order to avoid any lines … oh well!
