Have you noticed that Americans always choose their leader on a Tuesday in November and wondered why this particular time was chosen?
Let’s travel back to 1845, to an America quite different from today - an America dominated by farming, churchgoing, and rural communities.
In the 1800s, most American voters lived far from polling stations. Often, it would take voters a full day’s travel to get to the polling station, cast their vote, and return home.
While weekends might seem like an obvious choice, America was highly religious at the time, and missing Sunday church wasn’t really an option.
Wednesdays were market days when farmers sold their produce, so that left Tuesdays as the best day for farmers to travel to the polls and get back in time for market day.
Election Day in the United States was designated as the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November because it was the most convenient day for 19th-century farmers, allowing them to travel without interfering with church on Sundays or market days on Wednesdays.
But why November?
Spring and summer were planting seasons, and autumn was the time for early harvest. Since farmers were the largest group of voters, November was chosen as a time since crops would have been planted already. The harsh winter wouldn't have set in too, minimising travel disruptions.
These reasons led the U.S. Congress to designate Election Day as the “first Tuesday after the first Monday in November,” a tradition that has remained in place for nearly two centuries.
However, in today’s world, mid-week voting presents its own challenges, with work schedules, commuting, and modern lifestyles making it difficult for many to cast their vote.
Should the U.S. reconsider Election Day to better suit modern society? Only voter turnout will tell.
This article was written by our quizmaster Surya Narayanan.
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