VIDEO: There’s a Reason Why Election Day is Next Month

Why on a Tuesday and why in November?  One reason was fear about voter fraud.  It’s not just a modern concern.  In the early days of the Republic, and even in the colonial era, Election Day was all over the calendar.  States still control elections, and in earlier times set the date.  Finally, a uniform date was set for presidential votes, and later for Congress.  Then it became more efficient and less expensive to combine the same day for state and local contests, too.

Why Not July or Halloween Day?

But why in November?  I watched a video from Kite and Key Media.  You can view it by clicking here.  America was an agrarian country in the 1800s, and waiting until after harvest gave farmers the time they needed to get to the polls.  If you don’t have time to watch the video, Sunday was set aside for church, and Wednesday was market day.  Monday afforded people a day for travel to get to the polls.

Once the votes were counted, members of the House and Senate then had a couple of months to travel to Washington.  It was a long carriage ride from California and Oregon.  The President was inaugurated in March.  That changed during Franklin Roosevelt’s Presidency, when he was nearly killed in Miami before being sworn in for his first term.  The assassin missed FDR, but killed the Mayor of Chicago, an associate of the President-Elect.

We Now Have Election Month

Today, we have multiple voting options.  Early voting is underway across Idaho.  Absentee ballots are provided for people who can’t be in town on Election Day, and for servicemen and women stationed far from home.  Residents in nursing homes can mail ballots.  The idea is to give people some choice and to limit excuses for not voting.