Why Tuesday?

Get Involved

Archive for February, 2011

Monday, February 21st, 2011

It Is Not Presidents Day

This morning I saw an editorial linked on Twitter called “It’s Not Presidents Day” in the New Hampshire Union Leader. The piece was about how today’s national holiday is actually the (relocated) birthday of our nation’s first president, George Washington.

That isn’t the holiday’s real name, of course. It was, and still is, George Washington’s Birthday. America’s jaded youth might wonder what’s so special about the old dude on the dollar bill. Didn’t he run over some red coats with a muscle car or something?

Three years ago this holiday stoked another question in our mind: if a president’s birthday can be moved for the sake of having a 3-day weekend, why can’t we move Election Day to make voting more convenient for all Americans? I headed to Queens, New York to explore this question myself. Watch to see what I found.

About Us

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... More

The Answer

In 1845, before Florida, California, and Texas were states or slavery had been abolished, Congress needed to pick a time for Americans to vote... More

Recent Blog Posts

Recent Comments

There is no doubt in my mind that there would be higher voter turnout on Saturday than Tuesday. Most people work on Tuesday, and getting to the polls (usually before or after work) and often standing in long lines can be a time-consuming hassle...

Posted by henry swedlaw on blog post Why Do We Vote On Tuesday?

Given the history, how does anyone who lives closer than a day from his/her polling place really complain about being too busy? You can make it any day you like...

Posted by Jon on blog post Why Do We Vote On Tuesday?