Bobcat Congress @ Central HS

Congressional Research - February 2017

Legislation Label: F - Election Day Holiday Researcher Name: Thomas Chung

Analysis/Miscellaneous:

Pro:
I. Low turnout

Conyers, John. "Make Election Day a National Holiday." NYTimes. N.p., 7 Nov. 2016.
Web. 31 Jan. 2017. <http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/11/07/overturning-
election-day-tradition/make-eleciton-day-a-national-holiday>.

“The passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 heralded a new era of political opportunity
for African-Americans not seen since Reconstruction. But the 2013 Shelby County v.
Holder Supreme Court decision struck at its heart by suspending the Section 5 pre-
clearance which has allowed states to enact a series of voter suppression schemes that
disenfranchise voters. Make no mistake, the fight for equal voting rights is ongoing.

In addition to those challenges, in far too many communities and across the political spectrum,
voting has been dismissed as a pointless exercise. Some may be too busy; afraid or completely
unable to leave work to spend hours at a polling place to cast their vote. Our greatest civic
responsibility has even been featured as comic fodder.

The cost of low voter participation for our democracy cannot be measured in financial terms.
That is why I introduced legislation to make Election Day a national holiday. Though some
might dismiss an Election Day holiday as being too expensive for our government to
afford, the damage caused by low voter participation is a far greater risk.

Everyone deserves an opportunity to have their voice heard by electing the leaders of their
choice. Setting aside a day devoted to voting makes the process not only more
convenient, but fairer for American citizens and can be the first step in rebuilding and
enhancing the image of civic participation. “

II. Moral Boost

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2016-10-25/make-
election-day-a-federal-holiday
October 25, 2016. AUTHOR: Nicole Hemmer

Accompanying those laws has been an intellectual justification for restricting the vote,
the idea that some citizens aren't intelligent or engaged or motivated enough to vote,
and therefore there should be barriers to their participation. Making Election Day a

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Congressional Research - February 2017

Legislation Label: F - Election Day Holiday Researcher Name: Thomas Chung

national holiday will help militate against that idea, elevating franchise to a national
rite, part of the fabric of civic life.

Con:
I. Swing states’ infrastructure not ready

Wolf, Richard, and Kevin McCoy. "Voters in Key States Endured Long Lines, Equipment
Failures." USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, 09 Nov. 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
<http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/11/08/voting-polls-election-
day/93201770/>.

“Tens of millions of Americans who descended on the polls Tuesday faced hours-long
lines, sporadic equipment failures and confusion about polling places — but little of the
violence or vigilantism that had been feared.
Problems cropped up in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and
other key battleground states that would decide whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump
wins the presidency. Most involved election administration issues that have plagued the polls
for decades, however, rather than incidents of voter fraud or intimidation fueled by Trump's
warning of a "rigged" election.
A coalition of more than 100 civil rights and voting rights groups running a national
election protection hotline reported that 40% of its calls came from African American and
Hispanic communities, a possible indication that minority voters were being targeted. The
majority of complaints came from California, New York, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and
North Carolina, with Florida seeing particularly high levels of voter misinformation.
“There is tremendous disruption at the polls today," said Wade Henderson, president of the
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. "This election may be the most chaotic
election … in the last 50 years.”
The most widespread problems appeared to occur in North Carolina and Colorado, two
crucial swing states:
● In Durham, N.C., electronic poll books that are used to check voter registration
were down in the morning, forcing voters to wait longer and use paper back-up
copies. The Southern Coalition for Social Justice filed a lawsuit in hopes of
forcing the Durham County Board of Elections to keep polls open an additional 90
minutes. In the end, voting was extended by the state Board of Elections for up to
an hour in eight precincts affected by the malfunctions.
Judith Browne Dianis, co-director of the Advancement Project, a civil rights group, said the
Durham problem "makes for the perfect storm of a contested election" following a dispute over

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Congressional Research - February 2017

Legislation Label: F - Election Day Holiday Researcher Name: Thomas Chung

legislative voting restrictions struck down in federal court. "It’s going to be the battleground of
the battleground," she said.”
“In Colorado, portions of the state’s voter-verification system went down for about 30
minutes in the afternoon, briefly forcing state officials to issue provisional ballots to an
undisclosed number of voters, and also briefly preventing them from processing mail
ballots. The cause of the problem was under investigation. Colorado Democrats went to court
in a bid to keep the state's polls open until 9 p.m., but a Denver judge denied the request.”

II. Election day should be on a weekend to prevent any economic fluctuation

Ornstein, Norman J. "Election Day Should Be on the Weekend." NYTimes. N.p., 8 May 2013. Web.
31 Jan. 2017. <http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/02/17/which-holidays-should-
government-recognize/election-day-should-be-on-the-weekend>.

“At one level, as a longtime and strong proponent of making voting easier for all
Americans who are eligible, I would love to make Election Day a holiday. Far too many
working people are hamstrung on Tuesday; they can vote only before or after work, when the lines
are especially long and when people whose livelihoods depend on getting to work on time and getting
the hourly pay cannot afford to wait for an hour or more. But adding an Election Day holiday is
simply too costly.
One alternative proposal, to have elections held on Veterans Day, has understandably been opposed
by veterans' groups that do not want the day’s purpose to be diluted.

That is why I helped to found Why Tuesday, an organization focused on informing Americans that
the tradition of Tuesday Election Days is not writ in stone or in the Constitution, but was chosen to
suit a 19th-century agrarian economy. We believe it makes far more sense to move elections to the
weekend.

In my ideal world, American national elections would be held over a 24-hour period
from noon Saturday to noon Sunday, obviating any Sabbath concerns, erasing any
“rush hour” problems of peak periods, and making it easier for more people to vote. I
would also want early voting on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday beforehand for those who are
traveling or unable to vote on the weekend.

Of course, a 24-hour period would be more costly than our current system – but far
less costly than a national holiday, and a tiny price to pay for a better democracy. If
Wal-Mart can stay open 24/7/365, why can't our democracy be open 24/1 every two
years?”

III. Alternate: Paid workers when voting

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Congressional Research - February 2017

Legislation Label: F - Election Day Holiday Researcher Name: Thomas Chung

Berr, Jonathan. "Should Election Day in the U.S. Be a National Holiday?" CBS News. CBS
Interactive, 01 Nov. 2016. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/should-election-day-
in-the-u-s-be-a-national-holiday/>.

Participating in U.S. elections is dismal compared with that in other

industrialized countries. About 54 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots in
the 2012 presidential contest between Barack Obama and Republican Mitt
Romney, according to the Pew Research Center. By comparison, countries such
as Sweden, Turkey and Belgium typically see turnout of at least 80 percent in
national elections.
In the U.S., laws vary widely by state regarding to what extent employers must
accommodate workers to exercise their right to vote. About 19 states require
that workers be paid when they take time out to vote, while others
don’t. According to Edward Yost, a spokesman for the Society for
Human Resources Management (SHRM), most businesses are willing
to let workers leave early or come in late so they can make it to the
polls.

NYTimes - November 7 2016, Author: Suzanne Lucas

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/11/07/overturning-election-day-
tradition/have-businesses-give-workers-time-off-on-election-day

Making Election Day a federal holiday would definitely give more people time off work,
but would put more of a burden on others. If you work in a government job or a white
collar job in a big company, you'll get the day off. That would be great. But if you work in
a small business that can't afford to shut down, or in a factory job, or a retail store, or a
restaurant, or a hospital or any other number of jobs that don't close for most holidays,
you'll have to go into work anyway, but you won't have any child care for your school-
aged children. And, you can bet that stores would take advantage of the white
collar crowd being out to run promotions and specials which will ensure
their workers have even less time to vote. So, this solution is great if you
only want government employees and people who work for big companies
to vote.
Moving Election Day to the weekend benefits the same group of people. Grocery stores
don't shut on Saturday and neither does Burger King. What does shut on Saturday?
Again, white collar jobs.

Instead of looking at big changes, let's look at little ones. Minnesota had the highest
voter turnout in 2012, with 76 percent of the eligible population voting.

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 Bobcat Congress @ Central HS
Congressional Research - February 2017

Legislation Label: F - Election Day Holiday Researcher Name: Thomas Chung

Why? They have this law: "Employees may take whatever time necessary off
work for the purpose of voting in any regularly scheduled election or
primary." Most states have some provision to ensure people have time to vote, so it
may just be culture in Minnesota. That won't change with a federal holiday or moving
the date to the weekend.

Nwanevu, Osita. "Making Election Day a Holiday Might Hurt More Working-Class Voters Than It
Helps." Slate Magazine. N.p., 03 Nov. 2016. Web. 03 Feb. 2017.
<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/11/an_election_day_holiday_might_n
ot_increase_turnout_studies_demonstrate.html>.

The question of who would benefit from an Election Day holiday is further complicated
by looking more closely at the Census Bureau’s data on nonvoters. In 2014, registered
voters from households making more than $150,000 a year were the most likely to
say they were too busy to head to the polls—more than 35 percent of them
claimed so, while none of the income brackets less than $40,000 had more than
25 percent of respondents report they were too busy. Unsurprisingly, lower-income
nonvoters are more likely than wealthier nonvoters to cite illness and disability or trouble
getting to the polls as problems. Wealthier nonvoters, less impeded by these kinds of
challenges, say they have mostly their schedules to blame. Given this, an Election
Day holiday would remove a significant barrier to participation for relatively well-
to-do potential voters while doing little to make voting easier for a significant
number of less privileged ones.