Should the November general election day be moved to the Veteran's Holiday?

markmarc

My father was a decorated WWII vet, and it burned him to no end how many people didn't vote, especially because they couldn't find or get the needed time to do so. He believed that moving the November election to Veteran's Day would be a great way to honor those who serve/served and sacrificed. I told my students this idea and they asked if there was a quick way to get the opinions of adults across the country. So please take a moment and vote, and comment if you like.

WilliamM2

How would this give anyone but government employee's the time to vote? No one I know gets Veteran's Day off.

BlueFox

We should make Election Day a mandatory national holiday. Of course, I voted by mail last week, but I agree with the idea.

drumminman

BlueFox wrote: »

We should make Election Day a mandatory national holiday. Of course, I voted by mail last week, but I agree with the idea.

An even better idea. Many people have employers who won't make allowances for time off to vote.

Msabot1

It is your duty to cast your vote..regardless of your political persuasion,opinion..or the day...I remember once we had election day...now it seems to be election season...no matter,what is important is to cast your vote......it is your right,and we seem to not have many of those left!

AsSiMiLaTeD

I actually prefer that voting remains a somewhat involved process. My guess is that if someone really cares about voting they'll find a way to get it done. Making it easier may get a few more votes, but that doesn't mean you end up with a better election as a result.

It's the whole 'more is better' mentality that I don't agree with. I'd rather a smaller percent of the population vote that are most familiar with the issues at hand vs having 100% participation that includes a bunch of uneducated people.

While I don't necessarily agree that an official education should be required to vote, I do believe that a very basic set of questions that illustrates a basic grasp of current events and how the government works should be required in order to vote.

Making the process easier at some point probably makes sense, but right now that's not the issue. We need to get people educated and to the point where they actually CARE enough to vote.

tonyb

Plus you can early vote too, doesn't have to be on one particular day. IMHO...if you don't vote it's because you made a conscious decision not to.

Mikey081057

I voted no. Voting is a Civic responsibility. But I would not want to associate politicians with our brave and honorable men and women who served in the military. I have many family members who have served and one who currently serves. I reserve Veterans Day and Memorial Day to honor our Military. I do not want politicians to take advantage of that time for honor.

I am appalled at the record amount of money spent on these midterms and think about how it could have helped disabled vets and other people in need.

Moose68Bash

Veterans deserve a day of their own -- they earned it.

Before people are allowed to cast a ballot, they should be asked to name the individuals running for offices. If they can't even name the candidates, how can they cast an intelligent vote?

Yes, I know that is not going to happen, but it is embarrassing how uninformed voters are these days.

codyc1ark

I'm not sure about moving it, but I'm all for making it a national holiday. Every citizen deserves the right to cast their opinion, regardless of what some people may think. I would hope a large majority of us could agree that the cash infusion of citizens united has made the election season painful. In my opinion, has also taken people out of the equation, by letting large corporations buy elections. IMHO

Mikey081057

codyc1ark wrote: »

I'm not sure about moving it, but I'm all for making it a national holiday. Every citizen deserves the right to cast their opinion, regardless of what some people may think. I would hope a large majority of us could agree that the cash infusion of citizens united has made the election season painful. In my opinion, has also taken people out of the equation, by letting large corporations buy elections. IMHO

Campaign finance is equally out of control.

So you only disagree with those organizations and not George Soros or Tom Steyer or Hollywood or Wall St. or the unions who pay for favors? Funny how you single out those 2 and not the group who absolutely receives the most. You think unions should be able to donate huge sums of money to 1 party but it is somehow unfair for corporations and private individuals to donate to their party?

Yes every citizen deserves the right to vote...I have voted for almost 40 years now and don't ever recall it taking more than 30 minutes out of my day. Most employers I have worked for have always encouraged and allowed people time to vote. It has never impacted my work schedule either. If you need the whole day off to vote then take a PTO day. We don't need another national day of non productivity. Giving the people a day off isn't going to increase turnout... But people paying attention to what is REALLY going on politically would encourage turnout IMHO.

Danny Tse

Veterans deserve their own holiday, so I don't agree to having Election Day being the same day as Veteran's Day.

Having a whole day off for voting would invite abuse. People would go fishing, shopping, hiking, etc. instead of actually going to do their civil duty. If these people don't care enough to vote, then let them live with the consequences.

Don't get me started about campaign finance reforms. Those political whores don't know the meaning of those 3 words if their lives depend on it.

obieone

Keiko wrote: »

All I know is, Hollywood celebrities are exploding like Vampires in sunlight, tonight.

Good, I hope Ben and Matt both spontaneously combust.
I voted no. As Mikey mentioned, we don't need to mess up a holiday reserved for people with integrity.
As for people who can't get time off, I call Bravo-Sierra! No one can deny you a vote.

tonyb

Moose68Bash wrote: »

Veterans deserve a day of their own -- they earned it.

Before people are allowed to cast a ballot, they should be asked to name the individuals running for offices. If they can't even name the candidates, how can they cast an intelligent vote?

Yes, I know that is not going to happen, but it is embarrassing how uninformed voters are these days.

Spot on pal, people can't even name the politicians already in office for 6 years let alone the new ones running.

I agree also the money spent on these mid-terms is stupid, but in contrast we spend almost 3 times as much on.....bottled water....something we get for free. I've said it a million times, you have to remove the corporate from the government/citizen relationship and that includes the money from lobbying and campaign finance. You think they received billions of dollars from the average joe citizen ? Nope...it was corporations. Where will their alliances be after they win then ? What laws will be created to benefit who then ?

......AND, if corporations have that much to throw around, why are they cutting benefits and laying people off .....asking them to work harder,longer, with no increase in wages ?

The way I see it, is that a representative government should represent who ? It's citizenry...no ? It seems however that the citizenry is lowest on the totem pole of priorities.

billbillw

There is actually a law passed by Congress that requires it to be the Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November. Good luck trying to get a law like that changed in Congress and passed by the President.

Mikey081057

Just think... If you had the whole day off to vote how many times you could vote!

I would be in favor of a day off in say Sept or early October that people could use to:
1. Register to vote
2. Take a 4 hour seminar optionally to learn about candidates on your ballot and what they stand for and their voting records. Makes sense right? Why wouldn't we want to educate voters?
3. To get an ID if you don't already have a picture ID.

tonyb

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Just think... If you had the whole day off to vote how many times you could vote!

I would be in favor of a day off in say Sept or early October that people could use to:
1. Register to vote
2. Take a 4 hour seminar optionally to learn about candidates on your ballot and what they stand for and their voting records. Makes sense right? Why wouldn't we want to educate voters?
3. To get an ID if you don't already have a picture ID.

....and prove your a citizen. If driver licenses and picture I.D.'s are handed out willy nilly, that still doesn't prove your eligibility. Education on the people running is up to the voter. With the amount of people connected to the internet these days, I find it hard to believe access to information on anyone is hard to come by.

The only reason to be against voter I.D. laws is to perpetuate fraud...plain and simple.

gimpod

tonyb wrote: »

The only reason to be against voter I.D. laws is to perpetuate fraud...plain and simple.

Sorry tonyb but I call B.S. on this, it's a slippery slope my friend.

There use to be similar laws down south 40+ some years ago (Part of the Jim Crow laws) to keep African Americans and other undesirables from voting. Do you really want to go back down that road? I don't!

There always has been and there always will be voter fraud. Requiring a voter I.D. will not change that. Voter I.D. laws are just another way to keep people from voting mainly the poor and disenfranchised.

JMO

Polkie2009

That's part of the problem , the poor and disenfranchised people keep falling for the same old lies and in turn enslave themselves to living on the govt. dole. Paid for by hard working tax payers.

tonyb

gimpod wrote: »

tonyb wrote: »

The only reason to be against voter I.D. laws is to perpetuate fraud...plain and simple.

Sorry tonyb but I call B.S. on this, it's a slippery slope my friend.

There use to be similar laws down south 40+ some years ago (Part of the Jim Crow laws) to keep African Americans and other undesirables from voting. Do you really want to go back down that road? I don't!

There always has been and there always will be voter fraud. Requiring a voter I.D. will not change that. Voter I.D. laws are just another way to keep people from voting mainly the poor and disenfranchised.

JMO

Now that's the B.S. my friend. Voter I.D. laws have nothing to do with Jim Crow laws of old. The same people you profess that would be hurt by these laws carry I.D. anyway, to drive a car, get on an airplane, get their welfare. To enter a government building you need an I.D, when a policeman stops you, whats the first thing he asks for ?

So by your premise, asking anyone for an I.D. is a no-no and somehow subjects them to Jim Crow laws ? Government must want to keep the poor and disenfranchised out of their buildings then. Airlines must also want to keep the poor off their planes, and of course banks must not want their money either...or Hospitals must be against the poor for asking for I.D. See how silly that argument is ?

I find it amazing the so called "poor and disenfranchised" find enough time out of their busy schedule to acquire the proper I.D. for everything else....but voting ? LOL

Mikey081057

So you shouldn't need an ID to go see the President speak right? Because that would be like bringing Jim Crow laws back... NO ONE is bringing Jim Crow back. Stop making statements that have no relevance to the argument.

I have been asked many times to produce ID when voting and never found it to be a violation of my civil rights.

F1nut

Polkie2009 wrote: »

That's part of the problem , the poor and disenfranchised people keep falling for the same old lies and in turn enslave themselves to living on the govt. dole. Paid for by hard working tax payers.

F1nut

^Nail, Head, HAMMER^

This #@*&#^@# format is messed up more than usual tonight. I didn't even come close to hitting the post box, when all of a sudden it posted the quoted post above. Then, when I tried to edit it, the damn thing just locked up. AGH!!!

krabby5

wow..lots of "righties" on this page.

I REALLY hope a republican president gets elected in 2016. Then all of the people bitching and crying about Obama will shut the hell up. Unfortunately then I will hear the same crap from the "lefties" about how the world sucks and blame the president.

THE TWO PARTY SYSTEM IS CORRUPT. BOTH DEMS AND REPUBS ARE CORRUPT. THEY DONT CARE ABOUT YOU. the sooner you realize this, the more your anger levels will subside. There's NOTHING you can do about it. Nothing short of a revolution will change anything in DC. But voting for dems and repubs is not gonna change ANYTHING. In fact they've both changed the rules where no one else even gets a chance to win. (other than local elections).

All everybody does is argue back and forth..which is EXACTLY what dems and repubs want. It's like arguing how you want to die..."I want to get shot in the head..NO YOU DONT! YOU WANT TO GET STABBED IN THE HEART". Either way you lose.

tonyb

You may be right to some extent Krabby, but for right now it's what we have to work with and I respectfully disagree....there is something we can do about it. Sticking your head in the sand and giving up certainly won't help matters, only let the powers at be move that much faster towards an end game of their choosing.