Glia
03-24-2012, 08:58 PM
voting on a Tuesday is an outdated relic from the 19th century. Will you join us and call on Congress to move Election Day to the weekend by passing the Weekend Voting Act?
Here's the story: only 56% of eligible voters went to the polls in 2008, an embarrassment for the world's leading democracy. Earlier this month, Reps. Larson (D-CT) and Israel (D-NY) introduced the Weekend Voting Act to move Election Day from a Tuesday to the weekend. Polls would be open from 10 AM ET on the first Saturday of the month through 6 PM ET on the first Sunday in the 48 contiguous states (and held open overnight if local elections officials decide to do so). It's a great, no-brainer solution that will increase the ability to enjoy the most basic civic right of American citizenship.
This isn't just a civics issue, though. Studies show holding Election Day on a Tuesday disproportionately discriminates against people of color who often have more trouble taking off work or finding a babysitter so they can go vote. That's why Martin Luther King, Jr. protégé and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young strongly supports the Weekend Voting Act. Studies also show that other countries like France, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand have dramatically higher rates of turnout -- up to 70 and 80 percent -- when Election Day is a holiday, or held on the weekend, versus an average of 55 percent here in the U.S. in presidential election years. Here in the U.S., we rank 138th out of 172 around the world in voter participation.
We can do better by passing the Weekend Voting Act. Click here to tell Congress: help America vote and move Election Day!
Did you know Congress decided to hold Election Day on a Tuesday because it was the easiest day for farmers (in what was then a largely agrarian country) to get to the polls? That was fine... when it was enacted in 1845. But it's 2012, and Tuesdays can be the busiest day of the week for many Americans. Then, even if you do go vote, do you remember the long lines -- up to 2 hours in some places -- during the 2008 election? That's because polls in most states are only open for 12 hours (7 AM to 7 PM). Holding polls open for the entire weekend is a good way to alleviate that problem.
In November, we will change the course of American history by electing a President and new Congress, not to mention voting on many critical issues in the states like marriage equality and whether millionaires should pay more in taxes. Don't you think more Americans should have the opportunity to participate in those important decisions? It's time to help America vote by reducing one of the biggest barriers to voting.
Tell Congress: move Election Day to the weekend so America can get to the polls (https://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/MoveElectionDay).
Thanks for all you do,
Adam Bink
Director of Online Programs, Courage Campaign
Here's the story: only 56% of eligible voters went to the polls in 2008, an embarrassment for the world's leading democracy. Earlier this month, Reps. Larson (D-CT) and Israel (D-NY) introduced the Weekend Voting Act to move Election Day from a Tuesday to the weekend. Polls would be open from 10 AM ET on the first Saturday of the month through 6 PM ET on the first Sunday in the 48 contiguous states (and held open overnight if local elections officials decide to do so). It's a great, no-brainer solution that will increase the ability to enjoy the most basic civic right of American citizenship.
This isn't just a civics issue, though. Studies show holding Election Day on a Tuesday disproportionately discriminates against people of color who often have more trouble taking off work or finding a babysitter so they can go vote. That's why Martin Luther King, Jr. protégé and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young strongly supports the Weekend Voting Act. Studies also show that other countries like France, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand have dramatically higher rates of turnout -- up to 70 and 80 percent -- when Election Day is a holiday, or held on the weekend, versus an average of 55 percent here in the U.S. in presidential election years. Here in the U.S., we rank 138th out of 172 around the world in voter participation.
We can do better by passing the Weekend Voting Act. Click here to tell Congress: help America vote and move Election Day!
Did you know Congress decided to hold Election Day on a Tuesday because it was the easiest day for farmers (in what was then a largely agrarian country) to get to the polls? That was fine... when it was enacted in 1845. But it's 2012, and Tuesdays can be the busiest day of the week for many Americans. Then, even if you do go vote, do you remember the long lines -- up to 2 hours in some places -- during the 2008 election? That's because polls in most states are only open for 12 hours (7 AM to 7 PM). Holding polls open for the entire weekend is a good way to alleviate that problem.
In November, we will change the course of American history by electing a President and new Congress, not to mention voting on many critical issues in the states like marriage equality and whether millionaires should pay more in taxes. Don't you think more Americans should have the opportunity to participate in those important decisions? It's time to help America vote by reducing one of the biggest barriers to voting.
Tell Congress: move Election Day to the weekend so America can get to the polls (https://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/MoveElectionDay).
Thanks for all you do,
Adam Bink
Director of Online Programs, Courage Campaign