WASHINGTON — Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., polled those around him on Capitol Hill with one question: “Why do we vote on Tuesdays?”
“Don’t be embarrassed if you don’t know the answer because hardly anybody does, including most members of Congress,” said Israel, who posted the responses on WhyTuesday , a nonpartisan website dedicated to increasing voter turnout by election reform.
Israel submitted legislation in June that would switch voting for federal elections from Tuesday to Saturday and Sunday — an update to a law that has not been changed in 163 years.
Why do we vote on Tuesdays? In 1845, farmers needed time to travel — by horse and buggy — from the fields to the county seat to vote without interfering with the Sabbath or Wednesday, market day. So Congress chose Tuesday.
Now, one in four people who don’t vote say it’s because weekdays are inconvenient.
