1 year, 7 months ago
Why are US elections held in November, and is that the optimum time of year to hold them?
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M$2 Answers
Your question is misleading, here in Louisiana we have an election every couple of months, every year. It keeps the election employees employed, the sign companies producing etc. Many years we have even more because special elections are called whenever one of our elected politicians is hauled off to jail. (Keep an eye on newly elected Congressman Richmond if you like betting on favorites).
The national ones probably were based on getting everything done so that the new President and Congress could take over at the beginning of the new year, although it doesn't quite work out that way. What happened at the beginning of the year was the delivery of the election results to the Senate the first Wednesday of January.
The Wikipedia information is very suspect because it fails to note that US presidential elections were not necessarily by popular vote, so there could have been no particular concern about voters getting to the polls. The date that was of concern was the first Wednesday in December, which was the date given for the Electors to vote. They then had enough time to get their declarations to the Senate President the first Wednesday in January. So Wednesday seems to be the key thing here. In 1845 Congress set the appointment (election) of the electors to the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. This avoids an election on November 1, which may have been because it was more than 34 days before the Electors were to vote (easily changed), or more likely because it was a Catholic holiday (not so easily changed).
This might not format right, but here is this year's:
Date of Election Feb. 6 March 6 March 27* May 1 Aug. 28* Oct. 2 Nov. 2
Type of Election
Municipal
Primary
Municipal
General
Municipal
Primary
Municipal
General/
Propositions
Only
1st Party
Primary
Open
Primary/
2nd Party
Primary
Open General/
Congressional
Deadline: Specials 11/20/2009 n/a 1/8/2010 n/a n/a 6/18/2010 n/a
Deadline: Propositions 11/27/2009§ 1/19/2010 1/15/2010 3/16/2010 n/a 7/23/2010 9/17/2010
Qualifying Dates
12/9/09-
12/11/09
n/a
2/3/10-
2/5/10‡
n/a
7/7/10-
7/9/10**
7/7/10-
7/9/10**
n/a
Last Day to Register to Vote 1/6/2010 2/3/2010 2/24/2010 3/31/2010 7/28/2010 9/1/2010 10/4/2010
Time Period to Request a Mail
Ballot from Registrar (other
than Military and Overseas)
12/8/09-
2/2/10
1/5/10-
3/2/10
1/26/2010-
3/23/2010
3/2/10-
4/27/10
6/29/10-
8/24/10
8/3/10-
9/28/10
9/3/10-
10/29/10
Deadline for Registrar to
Receive Voted Mail Ballot
(other than Military and
Overseas)
2/5/2010 3/5/2010 3/26/2010 4/30/2010 8/27/2010 10/1/2010 11/1/2010
Early Voting Begins 1/23/2010 2/20/2010 3/13/2010 4/17/2010 8/14/2010 9/18/2010 10/19/2010
Early Voting Ends 1/30/2010 2/27/2010 3/20/2010 4/24/2010 8/21/2010 9/25/2010 10/26/2010
2010 Elections
Orleans Parish Only
§ In the event the governor proclaims 11/27/09 a holiday for state offices, deadline will be 11/25/09.
* Advanced one week in accordance with R.S. 18:402.G.
‡ Advanced one week in accordance with R.S. 18:467.1.
** Advanced one week in accordance with R.S. 18:1275.9.
The national ones probably were based on getting everything done so that the new President and Congress could take over at the beginning of the new year, although it doesn't quite work out that way. What happened at the beginning of the year was the delivery of the election results to the Senate the first Wednesday of January.
The Wikipedia information is very suspect because it fails to note that US presidential elections were not necessarily by popular vote, so there could have been no particular concern about voters getting to the polls. The date that was of concern was the first Wednesday in December, which was the date given for the Electors to vote. They then had enough time to get their declarations to the Senate President the first Wednesday in January. So Wednesday seems to be the key thing here. In 1845 Congress set the appointment (election) of the electors to the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. This avoids an election on November 1, which may have been because it was more than 34 days before the Electors were to vote (easily changed), or more likely because it was a Catholic holiday (not so easily changed).
This might not format right, but here is this year's:
Date of Election Feb. 6 March 6 March 27* May 1 Aug. 28* Oct. 2 Nov. 2
Type of Election
Municipal
Primary
Municipal
General
Municipal
Primary
Municipal
General/
Propositions
Only
1st Party
Primary
Open
Primary/
2nd Party
Primary
Open General/
Congressional
Deadline: Specials 11/20/2009 n/a 1/8/2010 n/a n/a 6/18/2010 n/a
Deadline: Propositions 11/27/2009§ 1/19/2010 1/15/2010 3/16/2010 n/a 7/23/2010 9/17/2010
Qualifying Dates
12/9/09-
12/11/09
n/a
2/3/10-
2/5/10‡
n/a
7/7/10-
7/9/10**
7/7/10-
7/9/10**
n/a
Last Day to Register to Vote 1/6/2010 2/3/2010 2/24/2010 3/31/2010 7/28/2010 9/1/2010 10/4/2010
Time Period to Request a Mail
Ballot from Registrar (other
than Military and Overseas)
12/8/09-
2/2/10
1/5/10-
3/2/10
1/26/2010-
3/23/2010
3/2/10-
4/27/10
6/29/10-
8/24/10
8/3/10-
9/28/10
9/3/10-
10/29/10
Deadline for Registrar to
Receive Voted Mail Ballot
(other than Military and
Overseas)
2/5/2010 3/5/2010 3/26/2010 4/30/2010 8/27/2010 10/1/2010 11/1/2010
Early Voting Begins 1/23/2010 2/20/2010 3/13/2010 4/17/2010 8/14/2010 9/18/2010 10/19/2010
Early Voting Ends 1/30/2010 2/27/2010 3/20/2010 4/24/2010 8/21/2010 9/25/2010 10/26/2010
2010 Elections
Orleans Parish Only
§ In the event the governor proclaims 11/27/09 a holiday for state offices, deadline will be 11/25/09.
* Advanced one week in accordance with R.S. 18:402.G.
‡ Advanced one week in accordance with R.S. 18:467.1.
** Advanced one week in accordance with R.S. 18:1275.9.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
"By federal law since 1792, the U.S. Congress permitted the states to conduct their presidential elections (or otherwise to choose their Electors) any time in a 34-day period before the first Wednesday of December, which was the day set for the meeting of the Electors of the U.S. president and vice-president (the Electoral College), in their respective states. An election date in November was seen as useful because the harvest would have been completed (important in an agrarian society) and the winter storms would not yet have begun in earnest (a plus in the days before paved roads and snowplows). However, in this arrangement the states that voted later could be influenced by a candidate's victories in the states that voted earlier, a problem later exacerbated by improved communications via train and telegraph. In close elections, the states that voted last might well determine the outcome.
A uniform date for choosing presidential Electors was instituted by the Congress in 1845. Many theories have been advanced as to why the Congress settled on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The actual reasons, as shown in records of Congressional debate on the bill in December 1844, were fairly prosaic. The bill initially set the national day for choosing presidential Electors on "the first Tuesday in November," in years divisible by four (1848, 1852, etc.). But it was pointed out that in some years the period between the first Tuesday in November and the first Wednesday in December (when the electors met in their state capitals to vote) would be more than 34 days, in violation of the existing Electoral College law. So, the bill was amended to move the national date for choosing presidential Electors forward to the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, a date scheme already used in the state of New York.
In 1845, the United States was largely an agrarian society. Farmers often needed a full day to travel by horse-drawn vehicles to the county seat to vote. Tuesday was established as election day because it did not interfere with the Biblical Sabbath or with market day, which was on Wednesday in many towns."
A uniform date for choosing presidential Electors was instituted by the Congress in 1845. Many theories have been advanced as to why the Congress settled on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The actual reasons, as shown in records of Congressional debate on the bill in December 1844, were fairly prosaic. The bill initially set the national day for choosing presidential Electors on "the first Tuesday in November," in years divisible by four (1848, 1852, etc.). But it was pointed out that in some years the period between the first Tuesday in November and the first Wednesday in December (when the electors met in their state capitals to vote) would be more than 34 days, in violation of the existing Electoral College law. So, the bill was amended to move the national date for choosing presidential Electors forward to the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, a date scheme already used in the state of New York.
In 1845, the United States was largely an agrarian society. Farmers often needed a full day to travel by horse-drawn vehicles to the county seat to vote. Tuesday was established as election day because it did not interfere with the Biblical Sabbath or with market day, which was on Wednesday in many towns."
source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_Day_(United_States)
The bill originally specified a 30-day period for the states to choose their Electors. Annals of Congress, House of Representatives, 2nd Congress, 1st Session, p. 278
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_Day_(United_States)
The bill originally specified a 30-day period for the states to choose their Electors. Annals of Congress, House of Representatives, 2nd Congress, 1st Session, p. 278
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M$
Your entire answer is from Wiki. Here Jen, check out this page with the guidelines for copying and pasting on Mahalo.
http://www.mahalo.com/mahalo-copying-and-pasting-guidelines
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Thanks for all that info, but I'm really looking to understand what the basic logic was behind the political calendar in terms of how it fits the seasons or seasonal activities.
Or maybe there was no logic and things just ended up where they are in the year for arbitrary reasons?
I think the idea was that the new officials would begin their terms at the beginning of the calendar year and that the seasons were not involved. There had to be a month or so before each step, leading to the November vote and the March inauguration.