I agree
Voting is Disabled

45 votes

I disagree

Rank1159

Idea#75

This idea is active.
New Strategies and Techniques »

Establish voting days as federal, bank, and general holidays.

Why Is This Idea Important?: Voter turnout in the United States is historically on the decline (most recent presidential election notwithstanding). Making a general holiday on voting day would allow for greater participation of the workers of the United States of America in the American voting system. As it is, many people who should be voting cannot because they can't make it to the polls in a timely enough manner. People who have two jobs have an even harder time because neither employer takes responsibility for ensuring that his workers have access to exercise their right to vote.

Voting should not only be a right in this country, but it should be a right freely exercised by all citizens. I propose establishing voting days as general holidays so that every American worker has an equal opportunity to vote.

Submitted by Unsubscribed User 2 years ago

Vote Activity Show

Comments (8)

  1. Edward said:

    There are least 30 states with laws requiring employers to provide employee with sufficient time off to vote if they don't have sufficient time to go to the polls before or after their shifts end.

    Making elections a federal holiday wouldn't do any good since it would only mean that federal employees get work off and making it a state holiday only means that state employees get the day off.

    This still wouldn't give employees the right to not work since state and federal holidays don't apply to private employers.

    State government wouldn't want to make it a state holiday since it would mean that state election employees would have the day off and then there wouldn't be anyone tallying votes.

    The few states that don't have laws requiring sufficient time off to vote should enact such laws but those laws shouldn't be federal. So I think this is a bad idea.

    2 years ago
    0
    0
  2. wondernugget said:

    It may start as something great but in the end it's another day for companies to use for sales and citizens may use to take the day off.

    I think you're on a good track but we need to get the people interested to a point that voting is respected again.

    It's similar to our Catholic churches. You let us down and we lose faith. With out faith there is no interest.

    2 years ago
    0
    0
  3. Edward said:

    @wondernugget

    Elections may be interesting, they may be fun and some people may event get out to vote but there's little doubt that the majority of people who don't vote don't fail to vote because they can't get time off from work. The polls are open in most states for over 12 hours and even then over 30 states have laws the require employers to provide time off if the schedule doesn't allow their employees to vote. In addition, many states now have early voting and even allow residents to vote absentee while at their normal places of residence.

    2 years ago
    0
    0
  4. Unsubscribed User said:

    Edward,

    Not sure that you have statisctics that back that bold statement up.

    Voting polls and booths around America have extended hours.

    So, what your saying is, even after the voting places have been open from say 7AM to 7PM in whatever time zone they are in that there is a vast majority of non voting American's today that would make it in to vote should the booths remain open for a full 24 hour period instead of creating or adding another general holiday!

    2 years ago
    0
    0
  5. Unsubscribed User said:

    The potential voters I speak with who refuse to vote do it for many reasons - and none have said it is because they don't have time. The most common responses I have heard are:

    Why vote it doesn't matter anyway. Their (govt.) just going to do what they want any way, why waste my time. Their all crooks...

    It is a lack of faith in participation not a lack of time.

    2 years ago
    0
    0
  6. rmahoney11 said:

    Instead of making a holiday of voting days, how about having voting take place over two days, a Saturday and a Sunday?

    2 years ago
    0
    0
  7. in-box said:

    Yea, have big elections on weekends, it wont effect the economy that way.

    2 years ago
    0
    0
  8. kdtroxel said:

    • Election Day should be on a weekend. Voting should be mandatory with fines for not voting. The fine should not be steep but should encourage turn out. Business must allow workers to vote with punitive fines should they not allow workers to vote. Election Day should be reconsidered as more than one day, for instance, Saturday and Sunday.

    • Institute an online voting system with Real ID as validation device. This would allow people to see that their vote was counted along with individual voting history.

    2 years ago
    0
    0