Give me a good reason for holding elections in working days.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

Here in Brazil, it's always on a Sunday. Polls open from 8 am to 5 pm. Why would this be bad?

[mrreowwr_kittty]

1. Might conflict with some religious practices.

Also, plenty of people work on Sunday. I do. I say leave it on Tuesday but make it a national holiday.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

4. I agree that would be even better

But people might bitch about lost productivity.

[MadMaddie]

2. Because in America...the Repugs are counting on

1. People being unable to get to the polls during a work day...thus illiminating a % of eligible voters

2. The Fundie's in the US will scream if a National Voting day were held on Sunday...

[Captain Hilts]

3. Church/state, favoring one religion or another by voting or not voting on.

their sabbath.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

5. I guess Brazil is anti-Christian then.

Always favoring them Joos and Ay-rabs... nah, I don't think so.

Even the most pious of the pious here don't mind voting on a Sunday. What's wrong with us?

[Captain Hilts]

16. It is not as religiously diverse and not settled by Puritans. nt

[Avalux]

6. It should be a national holiday.

Fine if it's during the week, but give us the day off to stand in line for hours. :thumbsup:

[unkachuck]

12. no!!....

....being retired, I make it to the polls at precisely 10:22am and I can usually walk right into a booth and be out within 10 minutes....if everyone had the day off, you'll be making me wait in line....

....however, in order to correct the low-voter-turn-out problem I suggest we pass a law that provides a fine of up to $10000 or 1 year in prison or both if you fail to vote....cops, bosses and school teachers could stop you at any time and have you prove your voting status or call for your arrest if you don't....

....I'm sure we could come up with some kind of positive-conformation-of-voting scheme that could be done on the cheap....I'll leave the details to the corrupt politicians and crooked lawyers to figure out....

[tyedyeto]

13. Rotflmao about the fines

My state wants to bribe people to vote by allowing a lottery drawing for ONE MILLION DOLLARS of those who actually voted.

Watching 'The News Hour', or was it 'The Daily Show', yesterday, I learned that The good ole US of A is 129th in the world of percentage of eligible voters who actually cast their ballot. What does that say about us as a democracy or a republic? To me it shows we are pretty damned apathetic.

[zeemike]

17. There you go, that's it

make voting a civic duty,
I can see a number of arguments for doing that and if you really didn't want to vote then just pay the fine.

[baldguy]

7. Weekday elections keeps down the number of working people who vote.

Obvious

[lynne]

8. Is there a day that isn't a working day???

Not that I know of. Hospital, police, security, post office, clergy, store clerks, gas station attendants - and a host of others - work Saturday, Sunday and even night shifts. As the wife of a law enforcement officer, I've spent my share of nights, weekends, Thanksgivings and Christmas holiday's without my husband as he was working. Weekends are popular for going out of town for those who don't work, making Sunday elections doubly difficult.

One day is just about as good as another as there is no such thing as a day or time of rest.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

19. There's no way in hell more people AREN'T available Sunday

than any other day of the week.

People have to go to church? Fine -- voting time is from noon to 10 pm.

[lynne]

24. The flip side of that coin is that voting on a week day insures -

- that a greater number of people will be leaving their homes to go to work. This puts them on the road and normally near their precinct, giving them with an automatic opportunity to go to the polls.

If election day were a holiday or weekend, how many people would just go fishing - take an extra day to visit grandma - or stay home all day, do yard work, and not bother to go to the polls at all?

[LA lady]

9. Wiki

Election Day in the United States is the day when polls most often open for the election of certain public officials. Election Day occurs on the Tuesday following the first Monday of November every year, which is always the Tuesday between November 2 and November 8, inclusively.

This rule was instituted by the U.S. Congress in 1845, and the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November was chosen to keep the election day from falling on November 1, All Saints' Day, a Holy Day of Obligation for Roman Catholics. Tuesday was chosen to allow voters one day to travel to their polling place, as most residents at the time could not travel on Sunday because of church. The month of November was chosen because it was after the crops were harvested.

[Stargazer99]

10. The reason to hold voting on a working day

I've worked around both the well heeled and the low income/poor. The working poor have little or no control of getting time to vote. I can remember when it was a LAW that no one was to work on voting day or time was required to be given the voter. The well-heeled can take time off almost at will: bankers, doctors, lawyers, CEOs, dentist,etc. Just put two and two together...why do you think that is?

[Crunchy Frog]

11. Keeps the riff raff out of the voting booth.

What better reason do you need? :shrug:

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. People are more likely to be away from home at the weekend

They go on trips, visit friends and family, and so on. Holding it on a normal working day means people are more likely to be near their polling place.

In Britain, polls are on a Thursday, with the polling hours 7am to 10pm. I've also never had to queue more than a couple of minutes to vote. The amount of people who can't get to a polling station sometime in that 15 hours becuase of work is minute.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

20. Yeah, extended polling hours would help too.

When are polls open in the US?

[Retrograde]

21. in my state, 7AM-8PM

That's 13 hours that they're open in California. In addition, there is a law (don't remember if it's state or federal) that requires employers to allow their employees up to 3 hours on election day to get to the polls. Plus, one can vote at the county elections office up to the day before the election, or request an absentee ballot up to week before the election and get it back to the county election officials by election day by mail or drop it off at any polling place in the county on election day.

Sorry, I don't buy this "it's too hard to find time to vote" talk. Where there's a will, there is a way. Moving elections to the weekend won't help: people who don't vote will just find new excuses, like "it cuts into family time".

[dkofos]

22. Tx. has early voting.

We can vote for 2 weeks starting Oct. 23.
It definately keeps the lines short.

[calico1]

15. When I lived in Puerto Rico

election day was a non working day so everyone got it off. That would bring more people to the polls I think because turnout in PR is very big.

[shadowknows69]

18. So its harder for the working class to vote

rinse and repeat.

[WI_DEM]

23. I think election day should be a national holiday and if not every worker

should be allowed two hours off with pay to go and vote.