Obama Voices Support for Making Election Day a National Holiday

[L. Coyote]

Obama Voices Support for Making Election Day a National Holiday
Making Election Day more accessible for everyone could boost America's low voter turnout.
By Emily Atkin | May 13, 2016

This post originally appeared at ThinkProgress.

President Obama likes the idea of changing the way — or the day — Americans vote.

In an interview published on May 12, President Obama endorsed the idea of holding US federal elections on weekends or national holidays. Right now, federal elections are always held on Tuesdays, because farmers in the 1840s needed multiple days to get to the polls in their buggies.

Though Obama has floated the idea of mandatory voting in the past, it doesn’t appear he’s ever explicitly supported changing the day elections are held.

What’s more, Obama endorsed the idea in an interview with a college student. Dan Corey, the editor-in-chief of Rutgers University’s The Daily Targum, was granted a 15-minute interview with the president after asking during a visit to the White House in April.

Here’s the exchange from the Targum: ...............

[Separation]

1. Let's make it happen!

Although I'm guessing as much as republicans like to suppress voter turnout, they will kill this idea.

[SheilaT]

2. Make it a REAL holiday.

Close all the stores, the gas stations, cut way back on airline flights, have cops, nurses, and firefighters running skeleton crews.

Anyone who does shift work of any kind understands that holidays only mean more work for them. Stores will hold Election Day Blowout Sales, opening early, staying open late, scheduling all employees. And so on.

What makes vastly more sense is to expand early voting. Or go to an entirely vote by mail system which seems to be working very well in Oregon.

Besides, other than the federal government employees, who do you think will really get the day off? I mean, even among office workers? Companies will either not bother, or will take away some other holiday.

.

[Nye Bevan]

3. Just give everyone the option to vote by mail. Problem solved (nt)