With Election Day coming up soon, have you ever wondered why we vote on Tuesdays? It seems kind of random.
To be specific, federal law calls for Election Day to be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. That standard was created in 1845. Before then, states held their elections at different times, which created problems. Voting in one state could influence voters in another.
Congress selected a uniform date to address the problem of staggered state elections. The timing also accommodated farmers. November came after the harvest. Because the country was primarily rural, many voters had to travel a long way by horse to reach their polling places. You couldn’t vote on Sunday because of church. You needed Monday as a travel day, and you had to be back by Wednesday because that was when farmers marketed their products.
The short answer is that we vote on Tuesday to accommodate farmers.
But “Election Day” is becoming somewhat of a misnomer. In 2024, only 37 percent of voters cast their ballots in person on Election Day. The majority voted early or by mail. Interestingly, Sunday is the most common voting day internationally. But it is not clear whether voting on a weekend improves turnout.
Some have suggested that Election Day should be a national holiday. Our democracy deserves that kind of recognition. But a federal holiday would not close every workplace. Many people would still be required to work, as they are on other federal holidays. With schools closed, child care would also become a problem. So maybe that is not the best approach to improving participation.
For the past several years, I have volunteered to work at the polls. The alarm clock goes off at 4:30 so I can arrive by 5 a.m. and help prepare for the polls to open at 6. Ouch! It’s a long day.
But I truly enjoy it. It is great to see democracy up close, and the experience has given me a deeper appreciation of the election process. It is also fun to rub elbows with your neighbors. Given that experience, it might not surprise you that I am a fan of voting in person rather than voting by mail.
As I have mentioned in past columns, New York has moved most town and county elections outside New York City to even-numbered years, meaning local offices will share the ballot with statewide and federal offices. The stated purpose is to improve turnout and participation, but I am not sure that higher turnout by itself is always the right goal. More people will participate, but down-ballot elections will receive less attention. More voters who are less informed about local issues might not be a good thing.
The longer the ballot, the greater the voter roll-off. People skip elections with which they are unfamiliar, or they simply vote the party line. That is not good for high-functioning government or for combating polarization.
If turnout were the primary objective, we could do what Australia and Brazil do and have compulsory voting, with fines in some cases when someone fails to vote. It makes voting akin to jury duty. It certainly increases turnout, but compelling people to vote does not necessarily make them more informed.
I think New York already does enough, offering early voting, voting by mail and 15 hours of in-person voting on Election Day. At some point, democracy depends on its citizens deciding that it matters.
Tip O’Neill famously said that all politics is local. That is clearly no longer the case. In recent years, national politics has driven nearly every election, from president down to dog catcher. I’m not sure that is a good thing. New York’s move to consolidate local elections into even-numbered years will only intensify that trend.
When the alarm clock goes off at 4:30 on Election Day, I’ll head to the polls for another long day. I’ll enjoy seeing my friends and neighbors and having a front-row seat for democracy in action.
Luckily, I will not have to ride my horse to the polls or get my produce ready for market on Wednesday. Tuesday may no longer make much sense, but changing it would probably be harder than getting up at 4:30.
Don’t forget to vote. But if you decide not to, that’s your choice too.