In today's post I would like to describe the history of the election day in the USA.
In 1845 Congress unified the election day for all states. Previously elections could take place within 34 days before the first Wednesday of December.
This change was made because of developing the telegraph in America, election results from one state could influence the votes of others.
It was decided that the elections should be held in November due to still relatively good weather and end of the harvest, which was crucial because then USA was still a strongly agricultural state.
Tuesday was chosen as voting day so voters could go to church on Sunday, arrive at the voting place (usually in a large city) on Monday, and vote ahead of Wednesday, which was a trading day for farmers.
The change initially applied only to the presidential election later it was extended. Since then, elections in the states have been held every two years on the first Tuesday after November 1.
Sources:
https://www.history.com/news/why-is-election-day-a-tuesday-in-november
https://www.procon.org/headlines/election-day-national-holiday-top-3-pros-and-cons/
https://www.britannica.com/story/why-are-us-elections-held-on-tuesdays
Are you going to devote a post to this year's elections?
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