Make Election Day a National Holiday

[Paco]

Due to the extreme importantance of the presidential elections I would like to see a proposal to designate Nov. 2nd a national holiday so the general public can get more involved in politics and make it easier for people to get to the polls to vote. If people did not have to work on election day voter turn-out would increase. Many of us commute an hour on either side of an already long work day leaving little time to go to the polls. Even though the polls are open early and late, having the entire day off would greatly facilitate people's ability to vote.

 

The right to vote is the most fundamental right we have as United States citizens and it seams appropriate that the government should do whatever it can to make voting more accessible to the general public.

 

Thank you for your sincere consideration.

 

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I have emailed this so far to Senator Maria Cantwell , Senator Patty Murray, Representative Jim McDermott and both Bush and Cheney. Feel free to do the same.

[iain]

I like the vote-by-mail thing Oregon has been doing. It lets you relax in your own home and make some good decisions.

[Gary_Yngve]

WA has the absentee ballot thing too. It's nice to be able to vote when you want, with a full Internet of resources in front of you. Election Day a natl holiday would be cool too, especially if it's during a cold dry spell that had been preceded by warm and wet.

[ChrisT]

I prefer to travel to my local polling place. Nothing warms my heart more than seeing all those cute little old senior citizen volunteers. Democracy in action!

[minx]

has anyone in WA received their absentee ballot yet? i got one weeks ahead for the primary but haven't received on for the general election

[Jim]

I was wondering the same thing and I'm going to check with King Co to see what's up.

[b-rock]

Oregon has until Friday to mail theirs. Worth a phone call but I wouldn't worry too much yet.

[Doug]

not yet, but i did receive my beautiful voters pamphlet yesterday.

[Backcountry]

Matsuhita Electric Company of North America

Better known as Panasonic gives thier employees election day off.

Maybe more AMERICAN corps. could follow the lead of a Japanese corp.....

[Dru]

If it was a holiday wouldn't that make people less likely to vote, because they'd be taking the day off?

 

Honestly how hard is it to stop by the polling station on your way to or from work anyways? In Canada they have those things every couple of blocks almost. Do you have like only one per city or something? Is it really hard to go out of your way and vote? No latte dispensers and SUV parking ?

[Jim]

Folks who say it's too much trouble are LAME-O. The polling stations are in every neighborhood for crying out loud. Or just arrange for absentee and have a stout while voting!

[Camilo]

Speaking of voter pamphlets, Washingtonians should read the Oregon measure 36 (gay marriage) arguments in favor. Funny as hell, I don't know if they have any screening process for arguments. Reminds me of when I was in middle school, doing a class project, where I learned about golden showers, mud wallowing, and rimming all thanks to the good ol' boys at the OCA. This guy is seriously funny though.

Measure 36

The Bible says that marriage is for procreation. God made Adam and Eve, and Adam and Eve made Cain and Abel, not an empty nest.

Marriage is for procreation. If you're not pro-Creation, you're anti-God. And once a marriage has been solemnized, sex is serious business. The solemnity of sex must not be abused for sinful pleasures. Sex is for procreation, not recreation. And marriage is for breeding purposes.

Therefore, it should be Oregon public policy that

· Homosexuals may not marry.

· Infertile persons may not marry.

· Men with vasectomies may not marry.

· Women with hysterectomies may not marry.

· Post-menopausal women may not marry.

· Persons planning to use birth control may not marry.

· Non-virgins may not marry (Deuteronomy 22:13-21).

· Inter-racial couples may not marry (Deuteronomy 7:3).

And couples who fail to conceive within two years ought to have their marriage licenses revoked.

Some good laughs in the midst of a serious (in my opinion) issue.

[b-rock]

Someone did something similar a few years ago when measure 9 was up - a spoof 'pro' argument. Pretty funny. Got $250 to spend? You too can have your say.

[Paco]

Folks who say it's too much trouble are LAME-O. The polling stations are in every neighborhood for crying out loud. Or just arrange for absentee and have a stout while voting!

 

I agree that it's lame to say that it's too much trouble to vote, but I think it would be a great help to the general public in getting the vote out if Election Day was a national holiday.

 

True, polling stations are in every neighborhood, but many people work an hour away from their neighborhood station, making it inconvienent to actually go to the polls. Absentee ballots are a great answer to this, but I think we can do better.

[Ricardo_Montalban]

it's legal...

Fred Neal, Voters' Pamphlet supervisor for the secretary of state, said such ballot argument pranks have happened before. His office can't yank such a statement unless it violates state law, which bans "obscene, profane and defamatory language" or words that "incite hatred, abuse or violence."

 

while i applaud M. Dennis Moore's entry's, if this tactic is abused it could make the voters pamphlet a serious pain in the ass to read.

article

[rbw1966]

Thats assuming its not already a serious pain in the ass to read.

[chelle]

I like Paco's idea. We're fortunate that in WA and OR we can vote at home via absentee. But I think that less than 10 states offer absentee voting to their residents.

[b-rock]

I think by law all states have to allow absentee voting? It's just in a bunch they make you supply an 'approved excuse'.

 

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1829&dept_id=107421&newsid=12978669&PAG=461&rfi=9

 

 

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, at least 24 states allow anyone to mail in an absentee ballot, for any reason. These include most of the states west of the Mississippi River, including Iowa, as well as North Carolina and the battleground state of Florida. At least 16 states also open the doors to actual polling places for several days before Election Day, as does Iowa. Allamakee County residents can vote at the Auditor's office in the courthouse in Waukon beginning September 23 for the November 2 election. The Auditor's office will be open October 23 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (the last day for voter registration) and Saturday, October 30, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.

 

 

Twenty-six states plus the District of Columbia still require voters to provide a reason from a list of approved excused absences (such as being disabled, on vacation, stationed overseas) in order to request and receive an absentee ballot. A new rule in Virginia grants a mail-in ballot to anyone who says they'll be at work and commuting for more than eleven hours on Election Day.

[chelle]

Thanks for the facts b-rock. I stand corrected. I like that in WA I could chose to always vote absentee when I registered. When I lived in CA I had to request it for every election.

 

Commuting for more than 11 hours a day would truly suck.

[cj001f]

Thats assuming its not already a serious pain in the ass to read.

Mine went directly to the trash. 1/2" for PART I! Hell no I'm not going to read all that - better more efficent ways to be informed. Vote by mail is the way to go, if election day were a holiday I'd be in the hills. Unless they made voting compulsory

[JoshK]

I'm surprised some of the dems on this site arent more supportive of this idea. It would overwhelmingly help the democratic party. Who is more likely to have the time to vote, a blue-collar factory worker on a strict hourly schedule who uses public transportation or a wealthier guy who drives his benz to work and can duck out for 2 hours without notice?

 

Get rid of columbus day and make nov 2 a holiday instead.

[minx]

i got my absentee ballot last night

[rbw1966]

Apparently Josh assumes all wealthy folks are Dems. By the way, the AFL-CIO(i.e. factory workers) are supporting Kerry.

[Bill_Simpkins]

Instead of a holiday, I think it would be nice if the employers gave an hour or two time off to vote.

Voluntary.

[minx]

i have worked for 2 companies that provided a few hours to go vote. i think it's a great thing and more companies should offer it. small perk but a useful one.

 

i just love the idea that my vote is going to cancel out some right wingnut's