Did You Know All These Election Day Facts?

Whether or not you've voted in the past, it's important to understand the privilege you hold as a US citizen being able to use your voice for change. While many people know the general basics of an election, some may not have learned about Election Day in depth. Sure - the election and Election Day are related, but there's so much more information to cover!

You may know that Election Day in the US is always the Tuesday following the first Monday in November... And this year, it falls on November 3rd, 2020. In very simple and vague terms, it's the day when popular ballots are held to select public officials. But let's break it down a bit more...

On Election day, US citizens above the age of 18 can vote for public offices at local, state and national levels. In even numbered years, federal elections are always held. But every 4 years, presidential elections are held - and these are what most Americans tend to focus on most. Presidential elections are very important and directly affect how the country is going to be run for at least the next 4 years. Elections for local and state officials may be held in odd or even-numbered years, simply depending on local and state laws.

As displayed in the image above, in this 2020 election the 28 states in color have required employers to grant time off. Some request advanced notice, and others do not. In all of these states besides Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Wisconsin, the employers pay their employees for a typical 1-3 hours while they're out voting.

So what does this mean? Is every Election Day like this? Well... not exactly. See, it is a yearly or biennial holiday in some states, including:

• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Michigan
• Montana
• West Virginia

Depending on the year, states may or may not observe Election Day!
Check out this fascinating article regarding the Election Day as a federal holiday debate

It all dates back to 1792.
This is when a law was passed allowing each of the states to conduct presidential elections at any point in the 34 days before the first Wednesday in December. This was the date when the meetings of the Electoral Colleges were held in each state. They had to be considerate of preferable weather conditions, so a date in November or early December was best. This meant the harvest would have been finished, but the most severe winter storms would not have begun.

As long distance communication improved, the need of each state giving their citizens more than a month to vote was quickly deemed outdated.

In 1845, the United States Congress chose a single date for all national elections in all of the states. The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November was specifically chosen so there would never be more than 34 days between Election Day and the first Wednesday in December. Similarly, Election Day is held on a Tuesday so that voters will not have to vote or travel on Sunday. This was written out of consideration for religious communities. Pretty interesting, right?