Election Day. Copyright 2008 InstructorWeb

Transcription

1 Election Day As you can probably tell by the name, Election Day is a day for voting. On Election Day in the United States, people go to polls to elect public officials. The biggest election is, of course, the presidential election that takes place every four years. We also elect governors, congressmen, mayors and other state and local officials in different years. Election Day is on the Tuesday following the first Monday of November. It may seem like a strange choice, but there is a reason for it. When the law was made, many Americans were farmers, and the farming season was usually over by November. Also, there were no cars, and people had to travel long distances to the polls. Tuesday was chosen to give people enough time to reach the polls, even when they needed to leave the day before (Monday) to get there. Why the Tuesday after the first Monday? This was to prevent Election Day from ever falling on November 1 st. There are two reasons for this. One is that November 1 st is All Saints Day, a holy day for Catholics. Second, many merchants were in the habit of doing their bookkeeping on the first of the month, so they would not be able to take time off to vote. Election Day is always between November 2 and November 8. In some states, it is a legal holiday. Banks and post offices are closed. Other states allow workers to take time off on Election Day so they can vote. Some people believe that because Election Day is a workday for many Americans, many do not vote. In fact, a bill was recently introduced in Congress to make Election Day a national holiday across the country called Democracy Day. Time will tell whether that ever passes. Election Day was not always the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. In 1792, the law stated that elections could be held on any day within the 34-day period before the first Wednesday in December. The problem with holding elections over a period of 34 days was that some states voted before others. As a result, those who voted later tended to choose the candidates who seemed to be ahead in the voting. In 1845, Congress chose the Tuesday after the first Monday in November as Election Day for everyone.

2 Election Day (cont d) In some states, voting is done by mail. In those states, all votes must be postmarked by Election Day. In other states, people go to the polls and cast their votes on Election Day itself. Voting on Election Day is an important part of being an American. Our founding fathers believed in government of the people, by the people and for the people. To put it simply, that means we should choose our own leaders. Election Day is set aside to give everyone a fair opportunity to have a say in who our president, governors, congressmen, mayors and other leaders will be.

3 Election Day Questions 1. What do people do on Election Day? 2. Election Day is held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November for all of the following reasons except a. when the law was first made, many Americans were farmers. b. November 1 st is a holy day for Catholics. c. government offices are often closed on Mondays. d. when the law was first made, some people had to travel long distances to get to the polls. 3. Election Day a. is a legal holiday in all states. b. is a legal holiday in some states but not all. c. is not a legal holiday in any state. d. is a half day in all schools. 4. Election Day a. has always been on a Tuesday. b. has always been in November. c. Both a and b d. Neither a nor b 5. Between which two dates in November does Election Day always fall?

4 Election Day Questions (cont d) 6. Some people believe that Election Day should be a national holiday because a. it would be patriotic to have the day off. b. some people may not vote because they have to work on Election Day. c. businesses and schools need to be closed so polls can be set up there. d. None of the above 7. In states where elections are held by mail a. votes must be postmarked by Election Day. b. you can only mail your vote on Election Day. c. ballots are mailed out to voters on Election Day. d. votes must be in and counted before Election Day. 8. Before 1845, a. elections were held over a period of 34 days. b. elections were held mostly in the spring. c. farmers could not vote. d. states could elect public officials whenever they decided to do so. 9. What does government of the people, by the people and for the people mean? 10. Do you think it is important to vote? Why or why not?

5 Election Day Answers 1. People vote for public officials on Election Day. 2. c 3. b 4. d 5. November 2 and November 8 6. b 7. a 8. a 9. We should choose our own leaders. 10. Answers will vary.