by George Littler

Created on: July 15, 2008

No, Election Day should not be a national holiday, but the fact that it's held on the first Tuesday in November is antiquated, as is the use of the Electoral College in presidential races, and both should be changed.

In his 2007 book, titled The New American Story, former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley pointed out that the reason Election Day is held when it is dates back to 1845. Then, in a young-America, someone decided that holding Elections on the first Tuesday of the month, was convenient for the farmers and ranchers who only drove their horses and buggys on the first Tuesday of the month, to purchase supplies and do other necessary business, in their local town.

Bradley's modern-day idea is much better. He advocates, and I certainly agree, that Elections Days should be scheduled on a weekend. Want better voter turnout? Keep the polls open for both a Saturday and Sunday, and in effect make heading to the polls a family event.

Parents with young children will have two whole days, with less time pressure inherent in the typical school and work week to get to the voting booths, and bring their youngsters along, impressing them about the importance of the one and only civic duty a democracy requests, and needs in order to function properly.

This year, it is likely records will be set in terms of voter turnout, due to the ultra high-profile presidential candidacy of Barack Obama, and his fellow-senator and Republican rival, John McCain. Each vying to replace the increasingly unpopular, two-term incumbent.

Unfortunately, just the popular vote will not elect either of these candidates. Had that been the case in 2000, you may recall, George W. Bush would not have served one term, much less two, as Al Gore captured the national, popular vote by a plurality of more than 500,000.

Which leads us to the other antiquity that needs abolishing in the early 21st Century: the Electoral College. This voting mechanism is even older, dating back to Colonial times in America, when the educated electoral voters travelled the countryside to explain the new democracy and the issues that went with it, to many people, with little or no reading or educational skills.

While the electoral votes almost always track that state's popular vote, nobody holding and electoral vote is bound or obligated to cast the vote, in the same manner as the electors state's popular vote. So let the people - all of the people decide.

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