Voting Shouldn't Cost You a Day's Pay. Make Election Day a U.S. Federal Holiday!

On November 3, millions of Americans will get up, go to work, and never make it to the polls. They do care about voting. But their shift runs long, they hit traffic on their commute, or they can't afford to lose a day's pay.

Sign the petition telling Congress to pass the Election Day Act and make Election Day a federal holiday! And, if you are able, please join us in treating Election Day as a civic holiday, since we shouldn't need to wait for permission to support and protect democracy. Pledge to take time off to vote, volunteer, and show up!

Our federal elections fall on a Tuesday because of a law passed in 1845. Back then, only white men who owned land could vote. Many of them needed a full day to ride to the polls and another day to ride home, without missing church on Sunday.

That world is, thankfully, long gone. But our voting calendar never caught up.

Today, voter turnout in the U.S. trails most other wealthy democracies. Again and again, people who don't vote say they were too busy or couldn't get away from work or school. Polling places are tied to where you live, not where you work, and many close by 7 or 8 p.m. If you have a long commute, a second job, or kids to pick up, the window can close before you get the chance to exercise your right to vote.

Voting is getting harder in other ways too. Many states have cut polling places and hours, and mail-in voting faces new limits in parts of the country. The first people to lose out are hourly workers, older voters, and communities who already wait in the longest lines.

We give the whole country a day off for Columbus Day, a problematic figure to say the least. Yet the one day that decides who runs our government is just another workday. In a democracy, that makes no sense.

The Election Day Act would change this by making Election Day a federal holiday. Lawmakers from both parties introduced it together. It would give federal workers the day off, and it would send a clear message to states and employers across the country to do the same.

Labor Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and even Independence Day faced pushback at first too. Today they're part of who we are. Election Day deserves the same place on our calendar.

Without it, voting stays easiest for people with flexible schedules, when it should be a right everyone can actually use. Congress has had this bill in front of it since January 2025 and still hasn't passed it.

Sign the petition and tell Congress to pass the Election Day Act so no American has to choose between a paycheck and their right to vote!

And again, if you can, pledge to take time off and vote, volunteer, and support our democracy! We don't need to wait for Election Day to be a recognized federal holiday to start showing up. Thank you!