I am a big fan of Howard Dean no doubt. So for me to have a ‘bone to pick’ with the man is rather significant in my view. Recently, he sent out an email to us Deaniacs asking us to “take a day off of work” on election day to support the Democratic Party get out the vote efforts.
Well, Dr. Dean, I refuse to “take the day off of work”! Election day should be a national holiday! What are you thinking asking us to take a day off work?! Hell no! I need money and I need to pay my bills.
By not making election day a paid national holiday, this country is helping to reduce the attendance at the polls of those that absolutely cannot afford to take time off work — those citizens in the unenviable position of “having to pay their bills” and “being paid a paltry minimum wage” that hasn’t been raised for almost 10 years.
If the minimum wage kept up with inflation, it would be about $23/hour today!
This is an indirect form of poll tax – which is illegal in this country. Apparently, the big argument against making election day a national holiday is the cost of adding another holiday to our calendar. One suggestion is to combine Veteran’s Day with election day “to celebrate the men and women who protect our democracy as well as the central tenet of that democracy. . . [And] by combining it with Veteran’s Day, there’s not a net increase in holidays, which means no additional cost to taxpayers.”
“Studies of the 21 most advanced democracies, going all the way back to 1945, show the United States rate of voter participation is one of the lowest in the world – and continues to fall,” Stabenow says. “Between 1980 and 2000, voter participation in Australia, Italy, Germany, Denmark and Sweden was 80 percent or better, and participation in Israel, Great Britain and Canada was 70 percent or better. Over the same period, however, voter participation in the United States was just 50 percent.”
Stabenow notes a survey done by the U.S. Census Bureau shortly after the 2000 elections that found respondents cited a schedule conflict with work or school as the number one reason for not voting.
“Declaring Election Day a national holiday would make it easier for millions of busy Americans to get to the polls,” Stabenow says. “In addition, we would have more public buildings – especially schools – available as potential polling places, and we would have a larger pool of potential poll workers to staff those locations.” – source
- Tekstone
Posted by tekstone 
