Happy Birthday, Dr. King

Friday, January 15th, 2010

Dr. King

Our group was founded by personal acquaintances of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to honor the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, for which Dr. King fought for and won for all Americans.

Today, January 15th, is Dr. King’s birthday. But “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,” a national holiday in the United States where government offices and many private businesses are closed, always falls on the third Monday in January, making a three-day weekend for the people of the United States. Other presidents’ birthdays, and Columbus Day, were also “moved” to make for three-day-weekends, and even Thanksgiving was moved by FDR to try and stimulate the economy.

Our question is this: if the birthday of one of our nation’s most famous election reformers can be moved to make for a three-day-weekend, why can’t Election Day be moved from the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, where it has been since 1845, to make voting more accessible in a country where voting ranks near the bottom of all countries in the world?

We don’t know the answer either. To find out why we vote on Tuesday, click here.

Join our movement to fix America’s broken voting system by following Why Tuesday? on Twitter.

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Why Tuesday? is a non-partisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2005 to find solutions to increase voter turnout and participation in elections.

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Recent Comments

  • Mich-Kama: Thanks for sharing this, I really enjoyed it while I was reading and I’ll probably add it to my...
  • Shyna David: I personally think that some traditions should be followed. Inspite of the logical concerns of Voting on...
  • Todd: Mike (comment #4) “Do you really want everyone to vote? … Bottom line most people are not informed...
  • Ezzy: It means having the kids at school eat lunch and breakfast outside. Means all the regular school staff having a...
  • Ilan Ben Menachem: United States ranks near the bottom of all countries in the world in voter participation.