Why Is Election Day Always On a Tuesday In The United States?
The best day, given the circumstances
Election Day in the United States always falls on a Tuesday. Many modern voters have complained that Tuesday is an inconvenient day to vote. Why not have it on a Monday so that the day can easily be made a federal holiday? Or Friday, for the same reason? Tuesday falls awkwardly in the middle of the work week, and those who want to stay up to watch the results roll in often have to do it on a school night. If so many people find Tuesday an inconvenience for elections, why is that the day that we are called to the polls? The answer lies in America’s agrarian past.
Prior to 1845, each state had the lenience to set its own election day. Election day in Pennsylvania might be on a Monday, and election day in New Jersey might have been on a Thursday. Congress only mandated that votes were turned in by a certain time and that an official election day be held. As you can imagine, having each state run its own federal elections on various days caused a growing number of headaches for the rapidly expanding nation.
This piecemeal election process slowed down presidential elections. Even in the 19th century, long and slow elections garnered suspicion of wrongdoing. Prior to 1845, election season was between November 1st and December 4th.
