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Mandatory holiday - Election Day

Election day - Mandatory holiday?

  • Yes

    Votes: 15 75.0%

  • No

    Votes: 5 25.0%
  • Total voters
    20
samsmart said:
Why do you hate freedom?
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Why do YOU?

When you run out of gas on Election Day because all gas stations are forced to be closed then what?
 
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megaprogman said:
I know what day its on, thats why I used the word should.
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You said Thursday in your earlier post.


megaprogman said:
Thats why I think it should cover the weekend when most people are not working anyway. Also, if it is over two days and the employee has to have one of those days off, than the fundamental idea is covered.
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Then there would be no need for a holiday.
 
Caine said:
Why do YOU?

When you run out of gas on Election Day because all gas stations are forced to be closed then what?
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dear lord do we have to listen to "out of gas" arguments and trivial arguments like you don't live in a democracy you live in a democratic republic. Last time I hear everyone gets a vote.
 
Moon said:
You said Thursday in your earlier post.
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Yeah, I did. Brainfart caused by them both starting with T.

Moon said:
Then there would be no need for a holiday.
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I think it should still be a holiday in the sense that people should scheduled off one of the two days, but I don't think it should be paid. With two days, I think a majority of businesses should be able to juggle schedules well enough to not be hurt by it. And if that wouldn't work, than we should have a full week to vote with a guaranteed scheduled off day at some point during that week.

Most places have open polling a week or more before the official voting day anyway, so we just need to make sure it happens on the weekends as well, so I doubt it would cost more and I think it would be flexible enough to accommodate everyone.
 
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megaprogman said:
Yeah, I did. Brainfart caused by them both starting with T.



I think it should still be a holiday in the sense that people should scheduled off one of the two days, but I don't think it should be paid. With two days, I think a majority of businesses should be able to juggle schedules well enough to not be hurt by it.
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If it's not paid, most people will not want to take the day off. If it is paid, then you're talking about a huge sum of money. The bottom line for me is that the vast majority of people have more than adequate time to cast a ballot if they choose. I do not believe creating a holiday will do anything to significantly impact that.
 
megaprogman said:
I think it should still be a holiday in the sense that people should scheduled off one of the two days, but I don't think it should be paid. With two days, I think a majority of businesses should be able to juggle schedules well enough to not be hurt by it. And if that wouldn't work, than we should have a full week to vote with a guaranteed scheduled off day at some point during that week.

Most places have open polling a week or more before the official voting day anyway, so we just need to make sure it happens on the weekends as well, so I doubt it would cost more and I think it would be flexible enough to accommodate everyone.
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Well screw that, I need to be at work more than I need to be voting.
 
I remember one year where I couldn't vote because I worked a 12-hour shift. Turns out, it didn't affect the election at all. The people I would have voted who lost still would have lost and the people I would have voted for that won didn't need my help.


Our votes don't really matter. They tell us that they matter so that we can buy into the illusion that we as individuals count, but we don't. We're all expendable.

BTW, happy fourth of July. :2razz:
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Sometimes 6, not usually 7.
I gotta say that if I'm pulling a 6 day week, voting will be the least of my concern on my day off.
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At least you would have a guarenteed chance, which is better than what we have now.
 
megaprogman said:
At least you would have a guarenteed chance, which is better than what we have now.
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I have a chance even working 7 days, it's that I don't care all that much.
I mean I do care but I know that I'm not that important when put in perspective.

Pretending for a moment that I did, I've got plenty of time to vote.
 
Tucker Case said:
Our votes don't really matter. They tell us that they matter so that we can buy into the illusion that we as individuals count, but we don't. We're all expendable.
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but who'll vote if they expend all the individuals?
 
Gabriel said:
dear lord do we have to listen to "out of gas" arguments and trivial arguments like you don't live in a democracy you live in a democratic republic. Last time I hear everyone gets a vote.
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They do.
They get to vote if they show up to vote.
We shouldn't force private businesses to close and lose sales because of some lame ass "social justice" argument for why we need voting to be convienient for everyone involved.

They already started early voting in order to be convenient. On top of that many private businesses provide employees the ability to leave work to vote as long as they ask and return with a "I voted" sticker showing they voted.

We don't need to force private businesses to stop working (thus hurting the economy) just to get a few hundred more people to the polls which won't effect the outcome of the election.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Sometimes 6, not usually 7.
I gotta say that if I'm pulling a 6 day week, voting will be the least of my concern on my day off.
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And you accept that and move on.

Your not whining about needing a holiday incentive in order to get your lazy ass to the polls either.
 
If someone can't be bothered to get to the polls either the morning before work or the evening after, then they're not interested enough to vote.

Further more, election DAY should happen on ummm....what's the period of time called....it should happen on ONE DAY.

No "early voting". How many votes did the Carnahan corpse get in 2000 in Missouri? Hmmmm?

No "absentee balloting", for almost everyone except military servicemen and other government employees who are posted outside the country on official business, and for the truly bedridden who are still of sound mind. Absentee ballots should be closely hoarded so cheats like Al Franken can't steal another Senate seat.

If a person is too lazy to learn how to read, no reason to presume he's learned how to study the issues. Can't read? Don't vote.

If a person is on the government dole, he shouldn't be allowed near a ballot box. No reason at all he should get a say on how other people's money is spent.

If a person can't show a valid ID proving he's a lawful citizen, and he's in a polling place, he should be arrested.

If a person can't show two uninked thumbs when voting, he should be arrested for voting twice. Forget this "I voted" lapel sticker crap, get their thumb all inky so they can't cheat. That'll cut down on the number of Democrats sent to office in the future, too.
 
Gabriel said:
You suppose low voter turnout is seated in political apathy?
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Everyone I know manages to get to the polls if they want to.

So, yes, if someone isn't going to the polls, it's because they're apathetic trash and no effort, not one single dime, should be expended to get them to vote.

If people don't care enough to vote, don't force them.
 
samsmart said:
But why should people who do educate themselves on the issues but have a strict schedule for their job be limited to only a few hours to have the opportunity to vote?
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Because there's no reason anyone should have to go out of their way to make their life easier for them.

And that means the taxpayers aren't funding yet another goonion supported bogus federal holiday.

But I'll make a deal.

Dump that stupid January 15th holiday, right after Christmas and New Years, for a nice juicy day off a full month after Columbus Day, so it's expense neutral on the federal government, and I'll have no reasonable objections.
 
samsmart said:
So you want to give people the choice on asking their supervisor to give them time to vote, which they may or may not do, or do early voting options, or go at some time when they can be off the clock, but you don't want to give them the additional option of voting any time during the day which would actually help them vote?
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They already possess the option of voting at any time during Election Day they wish.

All they have to do is arrange their personal schedule to make it happen.

Besides which, and this is far too complicated for some people to understand, why would everyone have to have a full day off to do something that takes less than twenty minutes to do?
 
Scarecrow Akhbar said:
Everyone I know manages to get to the polls if they want to.

So, yes, if someone isn't going to the polls, it's because they're apathetic trash and no effort, not one single dime, should be expended to get them to vote.

If people don't care enough to vote, don't force them.
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Not everyone can get to the poles. I myself have missed elections because I was working. It isn't so much a "forcing" but rather a chance to consider things more in depth. To set aside a day to contribute to the political process. I believe part of the apathy around the democratic process in America is because people don’t take the time to think about things. I think having a day where people are repeatedly asked to consider the party platforms they have in front of them will be more engaging then... "oh I gotta hurry and vote ." then they just return to their regular duties. I think this would be a great way to increase engagement in democracy.
 
Gabriel said:
Not everyone can get to the poles. I myself have missed elections because I was working. It isn't so much a "forcing" but rather a chance to consider things more in depth. To set aside a day to contribute to the political process. I believe part of the apathy around the democratic process in America is because people don’t take the time to think about things. I think having a day where people are repeatedly asked to consider the party platforms they have in front of them will be more engaging then... "oh I gotta hurry and vote ." then they just return to their regular duties. I think this would be a great way to increase engagement in democracy.
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I understand what your talking about but it's mostly wishful thinking.
To be engaged in the political process and actually make a contribution people are going to have to start reading and understanding more of what they are voting for.

A scheduled day off to vote isn't going to change that because the day you go to vote is already scheduled way ahead of time and if people aren't preparing then, they won't do it under your system.

It's unfortunate but that is the way democratic systems work.
That is part of the reason they don't last that long, it sucks but it's the truth. :shrug:
 
I don't see this providing any noticable boost in the amount of people that would vote while likely causing a negative on the economy if there's a forced holiday for everyone that day.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
I understand what your talking about but it's mostly wishful thinking.
To be engaged in the political process and actually make a contribution people are going to have to start reading and understanding more of what they are voting for.
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Agree completely. People are too lazy to look up or research a candidates history/point of view (Even in todays world where access to information is relatively easy.) Categorizing candidates in parties may generalize a common agenda, but people need to understand what they are actually voting for. In todays world there are alot of cultural and foreign affairs that even common party members disagree with. It's a flaw in a 2 party system, but can be solved if people actually made an attempt to better their knowledge.
 
Gabriel said:
Do you think that creating a mandatory holiday for elections would increase voter turnout?
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I like the idea of a federal day off voting holiday. I do believe that if you really want to vote then nothing is going to stop you regardless if you have to work or stand in a long line to vote. At least with a federal holiday then there is no excuse.
 
LimeLight said:
Agree completely. People are too lazy to look up or research a candidates history/point of view (Even in todays world where access to information is relatively easy.) Categorizing candidates in parties may generalize a common agenda, but people need to understand what they are actually voting for. In todays world there are alot of cultural and foreign affairs that even common party members disagree with. It's a flaw in a 2 party system, but can be solved if people actually made an attempt to better their knowledge.
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Yep, if people can't be bothered to get the information when it is piped into their homes and is at near instant access, giving them a day off ain't gonna fix that kind of apathy.
 
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