Early voting has begun for the 2022 Midterm Elections.
It always amazes me when I see the statistics of the consistency low turnout rate for voting eligible population. Barely 50% of our fellow citizens who are eligible to vote bother to do so.
I grew up in a household where Mom always stressed that each of us has an individual responsibility to cast our vote. She expected each of us to educate ourselves, make our own decisions, and cast our ballot. “You can’t complain if you didn’t vote”.
Looking back, I am sad to say that when my kids were little and I was busy starting my career, I fell short. Too many times, I would skip a vote telling myself that my one vote doesn’t really make a difference. I promised myself – next time . . . One day I woke up and began truly embracing my Mom’s approach.
Now I always take the opportunity to encourage my friends, family, and neighbors to vote. Not who or what to vote for, but to vote.
1840-1910
When I looked at this Turnout Rate chart (source: statista.com), I was curious about the period of time when the rate was the highest. This is approximately a fifty year period from 1840 to 1910. I took a look at History.com and learned that in 1845 Congress designated the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November as Election Day.
Before then, states were allowed to hold elections any time they pleased within a 34-day period before the first Wednesday in December, but this system had a few crucial flaws. Knowing the early voting results could affect turnout and sway opinion in states that held late elections, and those same last-minute voters could potentially decide the outcome of the entire election.
Why Tuesday?
But why a Tuesday in November? The answer stems from the agrarian makeup of 19th-century America. In the 1800s, most citizens worked as farmers and lived far from their polling place. Since people often traveled at least a day to vote, lawmakers needed to allow a two-day window for Election Day.
Can you imagine any of us today traveling a day to cast our vote?
Weekends were impractical, since most people spent Sundays in church, and Wednesday was market day for farmers. With this in mind, Tuesday was selected as the first and most convenient day of the week to hold elections.
Why November?
Farm culture also explains why Election Day always falls in November. Spring and early summer elections were thought to interfere with the planting season, and late summer and early fall elections overlapped with the harvest. That left the late fall month of November—after the harvest was complete, but before the arrival of harsh winter weather—as the best choice.