There is no national holiday for voting

[SHRED]

Yet we have a national holiday for Columbus.

It begs the one word question...why?

[unblock]

1. hmm, i sense a two-birds-with-one-stone solution....

[Warpy]

5. Not really, most retail and food workers have to show up on Columbus Day

Any excuse for a fake sale, you know. These days, it's more of a government worker holiday. Even many office workers have lost it as a holiday.

[unblock]

7. That would be a one bird with one stone solution

I was thinking do away with Columbus day and replace it with voting day. Make it a federal holiday and require employers to give trime off for voting, if employees have to work at all.

[Warpy]

8. Employers have to give their employees an hour off to vote

which doesn't work really well when it's over an hour's commute to get to work, especially common among people who take mass transit.

Voting should ideally be spread over at least a week. Either that, or it should be by 100% mail in ballots.

Republicans hate both ideas. They prefer people who work for a living not vote. It's the main way the SOBs get elected.

[unblock]

11. well, certainly mail-in voting being readily available makes sense

unless you're a republican and hate it when the wrong people vote.

and you're right, one hour for voting is, in most places, not nearly enough.

there's a whole slew of things wrong with election laws these days.

[HereSince1628]

2. I was thinking about that a day ago, how about

Making voting day in Nov the same as Veteran's Day.

THEY always say Vets fought for our freedoms and rights. What could be more appropriate than linking Veteran's Day with voting in recognition of Vet's sacrifice for our democracy??

[Travis_0004]

3. I dont think a national holiday is needed

Most businesses wouldnt close anyway. I just request an absentee ballot, its a lot easier.

[Jenoch]

4. Minnesota has a law that says employees get paid time off to vote.

[malthaussen]

6. I have often wondered the same thing.

This is one of those things that has been left to the individual states to decide.

-- Mal

[NightWatcher]

9. Those in control do not want more people to vote

I'm a big fan of Early Voting and think that each district should have sites open for 7-10 days prior to the Election Day.

[SheilaT]

10. It would be sort of nice, but then retail stores would have

huge Voting Day sales, and the retail workers would have an even harder time getting to a polling place in the states that don't allow early voting.

What a lot of people who have only ever worked in offices don't understand, is how many people actually work on Saturday, Sunday, and major holidays.

Plus, Columbus Day is a truly minor holiday that hardly anyone who doesn't work for a government gets off.

The real solution is to extend early voting, make it uniform across the country, and encourage people to vote early or by mail.