In other years, Election day was earlier, and the election would be over today or tomorrow.

[lindysalsagal]

These last days are going so slow, they're taking forever.

[Warpy]

1. I know, this horrible election has ground on forever.

The upside is that we got almost a whole extra week of DST before we go into the dark tunnel of "standard" time.

[MANative]

2. It never gets later than this!

First Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Latest possible date is the 8th. And here we are, biting our nails and waiting it out.

[The Genealogist]

6. I was literally biting my nails when I read your post

So, yes. The waiting is torture! Wish we had early voting in Missouri!

[MANative]

7. We don't have it in CT either. I'll be at the polls on Tuesday at 6:00 a.m.

Trying to maintain my sanity until then!

[PeteSelman]

3. Leap year is killing us.

Without that extra day election day would have been yesterday and we'd be safe.

[elleng]

4. Not by much:

Election Day in the United States is the day set by law for the general elections of public officials. It occurs on the Tuesday immediately after the first Monday in November[1] (this does not mean the "first Tuesday" in a month because the first day of a month can be a Tuesday). The earliest possible date is November 2, and the latest possible date is November 8 (as it will be for the 2016 election).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_Day_(United_States)

[Thinkingabout]

5. General election is usually the first Tuesday in November.

[davidn3600]

8. Actually it is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November

The reason for this goes back to the 1800s.

This period was chosen because it was the best time for everyone...at least at that time. It was a compromise.

There was two reasons they didnt want the vote to happen on November 1st. The first reason is that November 1st is All Saints Day. So it had some religious meaning to some people. Second, many businesses close their books and do accounting work on the first of the month (many businesses still do this today). So people who ran businesses may find it difficult to get to the polls since the first day of the month is busy.

Tuesday was picked sort of in a process of elimination. No one wanted to vote on Sunday because that's God's worship day. And because it could take more than a day for some rural people to reach the polls, Monday was a bad day to do it. Wednesday was typically a market day. So Tuesday was the compromise.

I know some people think we have election on this day because it's a conspiracy to suppress the vote or something. It's not. When they picked this time back 150+ years ago....this WAS the most convenient time. The days of the week were very structured back then and many people worked the same schedules. It might not be convenient anymore as times have changed. We are not as much as an agricultural society anymore. It's just that we've never made any real attempt to change it. Many have accepted it as tradition.

[Yo_Mama]

10. Changing it was discussed, but early voting & mail ballots removed the motives.

Before those initiatives, moving Election Day to a weekend, or even making an "Election Weekend" a two-day event, so no one would have to miss worship services, was discussed.

As it is now, I think it is much easier to vote than if the date had been changed, so we can leave the tradition.

Edit: Meant to thank you for the very nice historical explanation!!!!

[WinkyDink]

9. My birthday is November 5, and Election Day has for the last 67 years been the exact same "First

Tuesday AFTER the First Monday in November."

In fact, it's been this since 1845.

[Divine Discontent]

11. just checked on the Tuesday weather for PHILLY

61 and sunny... whew!

PA has to get early voting by 2018. bad weather could tilt PA easily to the Repubs if it remains 1 day.

[WinkyDink]

12. No, we don't. We've been just fine, thank you.