grant to thePew Research Center , " The elections of 2018 , 2020 and 2022 were three ofthe highest - railroad siding U.S. electionsof their respective types in decades . " Both years saw the high pace for any national election of its type ( presidential versus midterm ) .
Still , the U.S. lags behind other highly-developed countries in elector turnout . Although roughly two - third of Americans of voting historic period voted in the 2020 general election , the U.S. localise 31st in election widening among 49 other nations , according to Pew .
What motivates multitude to either voter turnout or abstainfrom doing so?Census datafrom 2021 looked at reasons why Americans who were registered did n’t vote in the 2020 election . The giving understanding were a lack of interestingness or dislike of the candidate , reported Axios . Together these accounted for 32 percent of respondents . A further 13 pct aver they were too busy or had a programming battle .
That ’s a far cry from aPew Research Center surveyof registered voter who did n’t throw off ballots in 2014 . The single biggest reason citizenry gave then for not voting ? Scheduling battle with workplace or school . almost 35 per centum of people said their docket proceed them from exercising their rightfulness in 2014 . Those difference were in big part because of an 1845 federal law , which specify a weekday — specifically , the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November — as Election Day .
" The 1845 law was written to take into score the needs of a in the main agrarian society , " explainedNorman J. Ornstein , a political scientist and author , when we talked to him in 2016 . " There was n’t any Uber , or cars or trains . James Leonard Farmer had to get their products to market in wagons , which usually required a 24-hour interval of travel . And they require to be home for the Sabbath , so they needed to have a twenty-four hour period that fell between those . And masses settled their accounts in those day on the first sidereal day of the month , so they could n’t vote then . "
Given those constraint , the first Tuesday that falls after the first Monday in November seemed like the best choice . masses often had to travel a day ’s journeying to get to a polling place , so a two - day window was needed between Sunday and market day ( Wednesday ) . November was choose because it was after the harvest was complete but before winter set in .
Before the law was pass in 1845,states could throw election any timewithin a 34 - day windowpane that ended in other December . But since results in states that carry elections early on could have an essence on voting in states with recent dates , Congress create a home Election Day .
For many years , some people have been push to change the appointment of Election Day . Ornstein , a senior fellow emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute , co - establish an organization calledWhy Tuesday , which advocates transfer voting law and bear elections at a time that ’s well suit for modern - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. Americans . Ideally , they ’d like to see Election Day held on a weekend , though hold it a Union holiday during the week would be a pullout option .
Although Election Day is unlikely to transfer for now,46 stateshave adopted some variety of former balloting , up from 38 province in 2020 . The other ballot period may be as little as three days before Election Day or as long as 46 days and can include weekend . The average number of former in - person voting sidereal day is 23 , agree to the National Conference of State Legislatures .
In 2022 , just four states — Alabama , Connecticut , Mississippi and New Hampshire — did not provide early voting , though they may have had an choice for puzzle an absentee vote in progress . former voting has lessened the pressure on elector ' needs to get to the polls for that particular Tuesday in November and has serve to increase participation — at least for those who are motivated to vote .
