Should Election day be a national holiday?

[phillyTIM]

Absolutely. It's hard enough to get people to vote, but over-stressed/under-paid workers are at work more hours than ever in history.

Let's carve out the time/day needed for everyone to participate in this exercise of freedom rights!

 

[Pens1566]

Absolutely. There's no legit reason why it shouldn't be.

 

[conehead433]

As mentioned in another post they should move it to Veteran's Day and not create another national holiday. Giving federal worker's another paid holiday would be a ridiculous cost to the taxpayers. They already get enough GD holidays.

 

[winnar111]

Voting is regulated by the states. There is no right to vote in the constitution.

 

[HomerJS]

No but minimum vote time should start Friday and go through the first Tues in Nov.

 

[Xavier434]

I would support this idea at least for two terms to see if it works.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

So election day should be a national holiday (ps OP it's more frequent than every 4 years as an FYI), and 9/11 shouldn't. Hmmm

I don't think it should be a holiday with early voting (up to 2 weeks out), absentee votes, etc. If you want to vote you would find a way to vote.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
with two weeks of early voting is there really an issue with people not finding time to get to the polls?

Shh..... there obviously isn't enough time or options for people to vote... :roll:

 

[Thump553]

Originally posted by: winnar111
Voting is regulated by the states. There is no right to vote in the constitution.

You must have studied the Constitution under Professor Palin.

 

[Drako]

Hell no, we don't need anymore national holidays.

And compulsory voting? Are you kidding me, how the hell would you enforce that?

 

[mxyzptlk]

I would appreciate having the day off to go vote, but I don't think it is necessary here as I've never found there to be long lines when voting here in Los Angeles. 3 and 4 hour waits sounds absolutely unbearable. Why does that happen?

Originally posted by: CptObvious

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Why not just move election day to Sunday like they do in Europe? Or Saturday for that matter?

I imagine there'd be resistance from religious groups who didn't want to vote on the 'Lord's day'.

LOL @ name + post.

 

[winnar111]

Originally posted by: Thump553

Originally posted by: winnar111
Voting is regulated by the states. There is no right to vote in the constitution.

You must have studied the Constitution under Professor Palin.

Kindly quote the right to vote in the Constitution.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
with two weeks of early voting is there really an issue with people not finding time to get to the polls?

For some there is. It really depends on things like their work schedules, kids, etc.

For example, a buddy of mine just tried to vote early here in FL today. The line was 3 hours long in the middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday and he had to skip voting today for that reason because he couldn't be away from work that long. That kind of line is INSANE! I can only imagine what it will be like during the weekend when most people have off work and I can assure you that people like single moms will not have their young kids wait in those lines with them for nearly that long.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Absentee and Early Voting discounts any excuse to not be able to vote. So no, Election Day should not be a National Holiday.

 

[mxyzptlk]

Originally posted by: winnar111

Originally posted by: Thump553

Originally posted by: winnar111
Voting is regulated by the states. There is no right to vote in the constitution.

You must have studied the Constitution under Professor Palin.

Kindly quote the right to vote in the Constitution.

Are you not counting the 19th and 26th amendments because they are "amendments"??

 

[winnar111]

Originally posted by: mxyzptlk

Originally posted by: winnar111

Originally posted by: Thump553

Originally posted by: winnar111
Voting is regulated by the states. There is no right to vote in the constitution.

You must have studied the Constitution under Professor Palin.

Kindly quote the right to vote in the Constitution.

Are you not counting the 19th and 26th amendments because they are "amendments"??

That only prevents the states from denying people to vote on account of money or gender. You can still deny people the 'right' to vote for other reasons.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/...s&vol=000&invol=00-836

"Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress ... ."

Although we did not address the same question petitioner raises here, in McPherson v. Blacker, 146 U. S. 1, 25 (1892), we said:

"[Art. II, §1, cl. 2] does not read that the people or the citizens shall appoint, but that 'each State shall'; and if the words 'in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct,' had been omitted, it would seem that the legislative power of appointment could not have been successfully questioned in the absence of any provision in the state constitution in that regard. Hence the insertion of those words, while operating as a limitation upon the State in respect of any attempt to circumscribe the legislative power, cannot be held to operate as a limitation on that power itself."

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Of course not. More two and three job working class democrats would vote, with all the attendant risks of economic justice and the end of the secret class war that is waged against them.

Interesting point, I wonder how many cannot vote because of their jobs? If you're working a shift at a factory, you would be hard pressed to get the time.

Currently, all states except North Dakota require that employers grant employees time off to vote. Even in North Dakota, which does not specify in law that an employer is required to give time off for voting, still has a state policy that effectively prohibits an employer for firing an employee who took time off to vote.

In Moonbeam's state of California, and 21 other states, employers are required to make this time off paid time off.

So Moonbeam's "point" is not so much a point as it is a red herring. The reality is that anyone who truly wants to vote is protected by applicable state laws and will always be able to vote.

As far as voting being compulsory, absolutely NOT. All that would do is add statistical noise to the results. There are enough uninformed people voting as it is.

ZV

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: GTKeeper
Yes.

I know that back in 2004 there were people still waiting to vote when polls closed on the east coast. Most people could not just take the day off, or basically were stuck in 3 hour long lines after 5pm.

It's everyone right to vote and I think the government should allow people to do just that. A holiday would be great.

The polls cannot close if there are people in line. They are not allowed to turn people away. If you show up before closing time, they have to let you vote. Period.

ZV

 

[NoCreativity]

I think polls around here are open 7am to 9pm. Am I that sheltered to believe that most people don't work 14 hour days so they could go before or after work like I do? Plus absentee and early voting would take care of those who are working the long hours.

I wouldn't be opposed to moving voting day to Veterans day as has been suggested.

 

[L00PY]

Originally posted by: winnar111

Originally posted by: mxyzptlk

Originally posted by: winnar111

Originally posted by: Thump553

Originally posted by: winnar111
Voting is regulated by the states. There is no right to vote in the constitution.

You must have studied the Constitution under Professor Palin.

Kindly quote the right to vote in the Constitution.

Are you not counting the 19th and 26th amendments because they are "amendments"??

That only prevents the states from denying people to vote on account of money or gender. You can still deny people the 'right' to vote for other reasons.

By this logic, do you also claim that there's no "right to free speech" in the Constitution? By defining how a right may or may not be restricted, that asserts that the right exists in the first place. Even if the Constitution doesn't explicitly state and completely define a right, doesn't necessarily mean that Constitutional right doesn't exist. The mention of that right is often more than enough.


[edit to respond to NoCreativity]
I suspect moving Veterans' Day to coincide with Election Day would make a little more sense as the date of elections is often codified. And making it easier to vote might not increase turnout. There was that Funk study on Swiss voting that found turnout actually decreased when it became easier to vote.

The best way to get people to vote would probably be to set up some sort of lottery scheme with a monetary reward. I suspect even a small a prize as $100k nationally would boost voter turnout to previously unseen levels.
[/edit]

 

[crimson117]

Originally posted by: L00PY

Originally posted by: winnar111

Originally posted by: mxyzptlk

Originally posted by: winnar111

Originally posted by: Thump553

Originally posted by: winnar111
Voting is regulated by the states. There is no right to vote in the constitution.

You must have studied the Constitution under Professor Palin.

Kindly quote the right to vote in the Constitution.

Are you not counting the 19th and 26th amendments because they are "amendments"??

That only prevents the states from denying people to vote on account of money or gender. You can still deny people the 'right' to vote for other reasons.

By this logic, do you also claim that there's no "right to free speech" in the Constitution? By defining how a right may or may not be restricted, that asserts that the right exists in the first place. Even if the Constitution doesn't explicitly state and completely define a right, doesn't necessarily mean that Constitutional right doesn't exist. The mention of that right is often more than enough.

Constitutional rights are suspended all the time for inmates and felons. So even if a right does exist, there are ways to limit that right. Specifically, in certain states, people convicted of felonies may not vote in elections. See this ACLU page for more details.

 

[winnar111]

Originally posted by: L00PY

Originally posted by: winnar111

Originally posted by: mxyzptlk

Originally posted by: winnar111

Originally posted by: Thump553

Originally posted by: winnar111
Voting is regulated by the states. There is no right to vote in the constitution.

You must have studied the Constitution under Professor Palin.

Kindly quote the right to vote in the Constitution.

Are you not counting the 19th and 26th amendments because they are "amendments"??

That only prevents the states from denying people to vote on account of money or gender. You can still deny people the 'right' to vote for other reasons.

By this logic, do you also claim that there's no "right to free speech" in the Constitution? By defining how a right may or may not be restricted, that asserts that the right exists in the first place. Even if the Constitution doesn't explicitly state and completely define a right, doesn't necessarily mean that Constitutional right doesn't exist. The mention of that right is often more than enough.


[edit to respond to NoCreativity]
I suspect moving Veterans' Day to coincide with Election Day would make a little more sense as the date of elections is often codified. And making it easier to vote might not increase turnout. There was that Funk study on Swiss voting that found turnout actually decreased when it became easier to vote.

The best way to get people to vote would probably be to set up some sort of lottery scheme with a monetary reward. I suspect even a small a prize as $100k nationally would boost voter turnout to previously unseen levels.
[/edit]

The 1st amendment only prohibits governments from interfering with free speech.

On the other hand, the Constitution explicitly gives the states the right to qualify voters given certain discrimination criteria. Thinks like felony status or homosexuality are not among those.

This has been clearly stated in Bush v Gore.

The individual citizen has no federal constitutional right to vote for electors for the President of the United States unless and until the state legislature chooses a statewide election as the means to implement its power to appoint members of the Electoral College.

 

[351Cleveland]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Of course not. More two and three job working class democrats would vote, with all the attendant risks of economic justice and the end of the secret class war that is waged against them.

Interesting point, I wonder how many cannot vote because of their jobs? If you're working a shift at a factory, you would be hard pressed to get the time.

Absentee ballot?

I say no... we shut down the entire country for election day? So everyone gets the day off? No gas stations, grocery stores, government services, etc? It isnt hard to vote if you really want to, what with all the vote early and absentee stuff we have these days. Just like it isnt hard to get an ID to present at the polls if you live in Indiana because it is the law and the SCOTUS upheld the law

(I just like pointing that out every chance I get... might put it in my sig)

 

[351Cleveland]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Of course not. More two and three job working class democrats would vote, with all the attendant risks of economic justice and the end of the secret class war that is waged against them.

Interesting point, I wonder how many cannot vote because of their jobs? If you're working a shift at a factory, you would be hard pressed to get the time.

Currently, all states except North Dakota require that employers grant employees time off to vote. Even in North Dakota, which does not specify in law that an employer is required to give time off for voting, still has a state policy that effectively prohibits an employer for firing an employee who took time off to vote.

In Moonbeam's state of California, and 21 other states, employers are required to make this time off paid time off.

So Moonbeam's "point" is not so much a point as it is a red herring. The reality is that anyone who truly wants to vote is protected by applicable state laws and will always be able to vote.

As far as voting being compulsory, absolutely NOT. All that would do is add statistical noise to the results. There are enough uninformed people voting as it is.

ZV

Wow... a gearhead that knows something about election laws

 

[StageLeft]

In a shockingly interesting bit of news, not only is the OP of this thread named Barack Obama, but the real slim shady has called for essentially a holiday on election day!
Link

EDIT: Accurately this is not a national holiday but just asking people to take a day off.