Election Day, otherwise known as Polling Day, is the day that all general elections are held in multiple places all over the world. In some regions, it is marked on weekends allowing citizens to go out and vote while in other areas, it is held on designated days that fall during weekdays. In the United States, Election Day is celebrated on the first Tuesday in November.

Table of Contents

• What is the origin of Election Day in the U.S.?
• When is Election Day celebrated across the world?

What is the origin of Election Day in the U.S.?

The decision to make the first Tuesday of November Election Day can be considered a rather curious one. Would you believe it if anyone told you that the origin of this observation dates back to the 1800s when America was primarily an agricultural economy? Below are six interesting facts about the history of Election Day:

The Election Day was first coined in 1845.
The first Tuesday of November regime started in 1845 after the American Congress passed a law designating it Polling Day.

Initially, general elections were held on different days across states.
Before this, all states were allowed to hold their general elections at any time within the thirty-four days’ allowance period, provided the elections were held before the first Wednesday of December. This created quite an issue since the lack of uniformity could determine the outcome of the polls even though other states were yet to go to the ballot. It was because of these possibilities that Congress was left with no option but to pass the current observation of Election Day into law.

Election Day first took place during the 1800’s when agricultural practices were at their peak. 
There is, however, a particular reason as to why a Tuesday in November was chosen. This was mostly because of the agricultural practices during the 1800s. During this era, most people worked as farmers, and for this reason, would spend their Wednesdays in the market as this was the market day. Additionally, they couldn’t vote efficiently over the weekends because on Sundays they would spend their day at church.

Polling stations were located in remote places.
The polling stations during these times were also relatively inaccessible and in most cases would require a day or two to shift them.

Tuesday was the best day to hold general elections as many people were not occupied.
Due to people’s engagements during the weekend and their unavailability from Wednesday to Sunday, Tuesday was selected as the most favorable day that would allow people to vote.

November was the most favorable month to hold the general elections at the time.
The month of November was also justified by the agrarian calendar in that it came right after people had made their harvest, did not interfere with the planting season and came before the harsh winter season.

When is Election Day observed across the world?

In the United States, Election Day has been observed on the first Tuesday of November for centuries. Every country has an election day which is marked on different days, depending on several variables considered during the choosing of this observance. On most occasions, when Election Day is on a weekday, the government usually declares this day a national holiday. Nations such as India take a lot more time conducting their general elections.

In the U.S., federal offices, including the President, the Vice President, and the Senate hold elections on even years. The most recent presidential election was held in 2016 and President Donald Trump was elected as the new president. Elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate are held every two years. Senators serve a six-year term, though it is set in such a way that a third of them are elected during any given election. The U.S. also holds general polls which do not include the presidential election. These are called midterm elections and those voted in start their office terms the January of the following year. The president and vice president are usually sworn in on the 20th of January following every election year. Several state and local government offices hold their elections on Election Day as well as allow for voting in even number years during the midterms. This is done to reduce the general cost of conducting elections in the states. It is also unconstitutional that some hold elections for an office that has all a sudden gone vacant. This may happen due to death and among other reasons.

Some states in the U.S. observe Election Day as a public holiday. Some of them include Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New York, Kentucky, and among others. Most other states do not allow this, although employers have been petitioned to give their employees paid leave to enable them to vote to boost election numbers. The petitions vary because in some cases they advocate for only two hours of paid leave. A federal Democracy Day has even been proposed by others to allow all employees a day off to allow them to vote. Although Election Day has been observed on the first Tuesday of November since the agrarian era, it has come under criticism as many U.S. residents are no longer farmers. For this reason, this day is not as applicable as it was before, which has led to the need for reformation of the day to make provisions for as many people as possible. Some people have also promoted unifying Election Day with Veterans Day and allowing people to vote by mail, also referred to as postal voting. Postal voting is a practice whereby a person is entitled to vote without having to present themselves at the polling station and in turn gets the ballot sent to the individual, which he also returns with his vote completed. This is allowed in some major states like Washington and Oregon. All votes must be received within a specified time for them to be considered valid. In Colorado, Washington, and Oregon, all significant elections are done by postal voting. Some states allow early voting practices which are unconditional, meaning you may be allowed to cast your vote as early as four to fifty days before the primary election. Local elections are done according to state law. These elections include school board and other special districts election. In some states, these elections depend on the jurisdiction. Most states, however, do hold these local elections on the general election day while others have them in accordance with their state laws. Though Election Day is not considered a holiday in most states, it is of great significance as this is the day citizens vote in their leaders.

In the European Union, elections take place for four days, usually from Thursday to Sunday. In some countries such as South Korea, Netherlands (an exception of the EU election days), and Indonesia, Election Day is observed on a Wednesday. Below is a list of countries and their respective Election Days which mostly fall on either Saturdays or Sundays. The following list consists of countries that observe Election Day on Sundays:

Other countries such as Slovakia, Singapore, New Zealand, Malta, Latvia, Iceland, and Cyprus observe their Election Day on Saturdays.