We need a 2 day National Holiday For Voting

[JCMach1]

The First Monday and Tuesday of November. Make it mandatory except for essential services and watch what happens to voter turnout.


Then, watch what happens to the Repug party!




==============================

For Reformers, Making Election Day Easier is a Hard Sell

By Michelle Chen

November 1, 2004

The apparent rationale behind recent electoral reforms -- from increased accessibility for the disabled to the introduction of electronic voting machines -- is that voting should be a right, not a challenge. As turnout for presidential elections has dropped since the 1960s to a bare majority of the eligible population, reformers hope to make the voting process less taxing, even appealing, for a sluggish citizenry.

In 2000, over 20 percent of eligible non-voters -- and even higher proportions of Asians and Latinos -- did not vote due to scheduling conflicts or inconvenient voting procedures, according to the US Census. In response, some voting rights advocates say one obvious way to make voting easier would be to set aside a whole day to accommodate the task.

The United States is one of the few Western democracies that do not schedule elections on weekends or a designated holiday. Advocates for a voting holiday point to higher turnout in countries that give a day off to vote or hold elections on the weekend. They also look to Puerto Rico, where a full day off is dedicated to the election and turnout in 2000 was the highest in the US at just over 82 percent...http://www.fairvote.org/articles/newstandard110104.htm

[madmusic]

1. Better yet...

Vote on Halloween as a reminder of why we vote. And make it a Holiday.

[LaPera]

2. We need same day registration...Which the republicans despise and

will fight...they want the least amount of people voting as possible, that helps republicans...large voter turnout helps Democrats, means the masses are unhappy.

[Dinger]

3. At The Very LEAST It Could Be On A Weekend

Or, 24 hrs. on a Tuesday, or . . . .

[Tiggeroshii]

4. Yay

[RB TexLa]

5. Only if you get rid of two other holidays, there are too many as it is

[TahitiNut]

10. Hogwash

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_holidays_by_country

[alittlelark]

12. Uh, Yeah.....

You are soooo informative.



Get a star dude.

[RB TexLa]

13. Damn it went away, I'll have to do that today

[liberal N proud]

6. If we had a holiday for voting, more people would vote

If more people would vote, the republicans would stand less of a chance of winning elections or having the election close enough that they could steal it.

They, the republicans will never allow election days to become holidays.

[JCMach1]

8. Exactly!

And no, THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH MANDATED holidays in the U.S.

Time off in the States is a joke!!!

[Nimrod2005]

7. I am taking Tues and Wed off....No better reason to use up my vacation days

It will save lives...and heal sick people.

[madokie]

9. I like the idea of it being a holiday complete with parades and the whole

ball of wax.

[alittlelark]

11. You logical idea is exactly WHY it is on the first Tuesday

W/ no mandatory time off for ALL of voting age.