All voting days should be holidays

[Cyborg Girl]

Yes, all of them. Every damn one. In every district where it applies. If you want a representational democracy to function, people have to actually be able to vote.

Now give me a bunch of excuses why we can't possibly have this or society will crumble, etc. etc.

[The Supreme Canuck]

Voting days should not be holidays. If they are, there is every chance that people will bugger off to the cottage instead of voting. That's counterproductive.

What you want is a system whereby employers are legally required to give you a number of hours off on voting day - say three hours - to go vote. With pay, I might add. I might want to up that to four hours, but I think the principle is sound.

[Cyborg Girl]

I don't think most people would "bugger off to the cottage" - I mean, I wouldn't - but I could be wrong about that. Mandatory payed time off on voting days also struck me as a possibility though.

Either way would rile up Republicans though, so it's not going to happen...

Edit: note that federal holidays in the US are paid time off.

(Also, funny that Canada already has something worked out for this. I'm betting that most of Western Europe and the Commonwealth countries do as well?)

[The Supreme Canuck]

You may not treat voting day as a holiday, but if we're talking about incentives to raise voter turnout - and we are - giving people the entire day off is a bad incentive. It incentivizes the wrong thing. Forcing people to work half the day while still giving them ample time and financial opportunity to vote is a more targeted incentive. It promotes the encouraged behaviour (going out to vote) while not promoting the discouraged behaviour (taking the entire day to play WoW instead of voting).

Now, if we want to talk about the abysmal state of the PTO and parental leave situations in the US, or other labour issues, we can... but those are separate problems from those of voter turnout incentives in the workplace.

Edit:

(Also, funny that Canada already has something worked out for this. I'm betting that most of Western Europe and the Commonwealth countries do as well?)

No idea about other places - I'm just very familiar with Canada and passingly familiar with the US.

Also, I don't find it particularly odd that we've worked out how to have a functioning democracy. It's a little funny that you think it's funny.

(I kid, I kid...)

[Cyborg Girl]

I guess I tend to be a bit more optimistic about civic involvement...

Now, if we want to talk about the abysmal state of the PTO and parental leave situations in the US, or other labour issues, we can... but those are separate problems from those of voter turnout incentives in the workplace.

I think this is actually part of the same problem. To wax political for a moment: the current Republican party likes to get its way in part by suppressing the vote, particularly from groups (read: ethnic minorities) who tend to vote Democratic. This is why you have things like, say, billboards reading "VOTER FRAUD IS A CRIME" in predominantly black neighborhoods. Also disenfranchisement of ex-felons in some states (since ex-felons are also predominantly black, due heavily in part to institutional racism). Republican politicians also tend to do poorly on most labor issues, so...

(The Democrats also have an extensive history of cheating at politics, but haven't been nearly as bad about it lately.

Edit:

(Also, funny that Canada already has something worked out for this. I'm betting that most of Western Europe and the Commonwealth countries do as well?)

No idea about other places - I'm just very familiar with Canada and passingly familiar with the US.

Also, I don't find it particularly odd that we've worked out how to have a functioning democracy. It's a little funny that you think it's funny.

(I kid, I kid...)

I sense a note of bitterness there!

[Cyborg Girl]

BTW, a note on ex-felons being predominantly black. I know this sounds horrible, but it is actually a statement of fact. Incarceration rates for black Americans, particularly men, are absurdly higher than for "white" people.

It's not just a matter of black citizens being on average poorer, there have been laws that tacitly discriminate.

e.g. for a while, possession of crack cocaine would get someone a much longer prison sentence than possession of other types. Crack was cheaper and was much more popular among addicts who happened to be black.

Things are pretty messed up here. I mean, I know you know that, but seriously, things are messed up.

[code monkey]

my grade school was a polling place and i grew up thinking that election day *was* a holiday.

oregon is all vote by mail so we can vote *and* bugger off to the cottage, tsc.

[cid]

I tend to agree with the "time off to vote" thing as opposed to the "voting day off" concept.
Around here, the polls open good'n'early and stay open late, so there's plenty of time to exercise the franchise. I've been the first one in line back when I worked nights and voted on the way home, and one of the last ones when I worked cays and voted on the way home.
Transliteration -- if you want to vote, you'll find time to do it.
I rather enjoy the privilege.
The only disappointing thing for me, I always wanted to work one of those machines where you pulled all the little levers...and they were outdated and gone by the time I could vote...