Election Day has taken place on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November for more than 175 years but have you ever wondered how this specific date originated?
Up until the mid-1800s, states held elections any time they pleased within a 34-day period before the first Wednesday in December. This system, however, had flaws, including the potential for early voting results to affect turnout and sway opinion in states that held late elections with those same last-minute voters potentially deciding the outcome of the entire election.
As a result, Congress in 1845 moved to establish a set day for elections in the hope of streamlining the voting process. But why a Tuesday? And why November?
The reason stems back to early citizens who, at the time, were predominantly farmers. While spring and early summer elections would have interfered with the planting season, late summer and early fall elections overlapped with the harvest. That left the month of November—a time when the harvest was complete and before the arrival of harsh winter weather—as the best choice.
The first Tuesday following the first Monday in November was deemed the best day by Congress because it provided citizens the day or two needed to travel and the ability to still attend Sunday worship and Wednesday market days.
The first official Election Day took place on November 7, 1848, with George Washington named and first president of the United States and, on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, citizens will head to the polls to cast their vote for our country’s 47th president. To find out more about some of our country’s forefathers from the past century, check out these books available at the Edison Public Library. |
