YES: A holiday? Yes. But other election reforms are needed as well
Americans should have options to vote in a secure and accessible way. One possibility many have raised is making Election Day a national federal holiday. While giving Americans a day devoted to voting is a good idea, it must also be coupled with other election reforms to make sure no one is left out of the political process.
The fact that we hold elections on Tuesdays, when many people are at work or in school, is a problem for too many voters. A 2017 Pew study found that nearly 16% of registered voters who did not vote in the 2016 election reported that they did not cast a ballot because of being too busy, a conflicting schedule, or inconvenient hours or polling places. That 16% may not seem like a lot, but it represents tens of millions of potential voters who were not able to make their voices heard because of the timing of the election.
Making Election Day a holiday is not a new idea. In fact, many companies have already started to give their employees Election Day off, including Best Buy, Gap, Nike and Visa.
Not only would making Election Day a federal holiday give more people the freedom to vote, it would also make the practice of voting more of a celebration as well as a responsibility. After all, our ability to choose the future for our families, our communities and our country through our vote is something to be celebrated. It could also help with poll worker shortages, as more people would have free time to volunteer or work at the polls.