How About Tuesday? Let’s Vote On It

The U.S. Congress decreed in 1845 that the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November would be the official voting date for presidential elections. The law was extended to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1875. It took another 39 years before the uniform date was extended to the U.S. Senate elections.

That totals 69 years of indecision about which day would become the official date to vote in all the national elections. And what about the confusing way the day of the week became Tuesday after the first Monday?

Most states used the decreed date for their own elections long before it was made official in 1845. At the time, it made sense to set the voting date on that November weekday. The country was an agrarian society. Most crops were already harvested by the beginning of November, allowing farmers enough travel time to reach the county seat where most polls were held.

The voting date was kept off the first day of the month. That’s when merchants totaled their incomes for the previous 30 days. Politicians didn’t want the necessary bookkeeping to prevent business owners from voting. They kept the voting time away from the weekend

because people who traveled by horses and carts often spent the night on the road, and they didn’t want to miss the Sabbath.

Weather was another consideration.  The temperatures were mild enough to make traveling over unimproved roads tolerable.

Today’s society offers many conveniences that make the process of voting easy compared to the hardships endured by patriots in the 18th and 19th centuries. Yet the United States ranks pitifully in the percentages of citizens throughout the world who have the privilege of voting.

Fifteen states in the U.S. still have elections only on the one day in November. The percentage of voter participation has increased among the 35 states that offer early voting that extends through weekends. 

Early voting varies from four to 50 days prior to Election Day.

The United States ranks 138 among 172 nations with free elections in the percentage of people who vote. Being too busy and not being able to get time off from work are two of the most mentioned excuses for not voting.

Election Day is a government holiday in Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, West Virginia and the territory of Puerto Rico. California government allows workers two hours off with pay in order to vote.  At least five countries in the free election world give voters a paid holiday on national election days.  

Veterans Day is November 11. Visit here during the first few days of November for information about its origin.  If you enjoy these blog postings, visit my website, www.joevlatino.com, where you can see information about my book of short stories, “The Device.”