Next Tuesday, Nov. 4, it is likely that only 40 percent of registered voters will go to the polls for the midterm elections. While presidential elections attract about 60 percent of eligible voters, American voter turnout still falls short of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s international average. United States turnout statistics are especially bleak when compared to those of individual countries. For example, both Sweden and Germany have maintained a voter turnout of well over 70 percent since 1946. Low voter turnout in the United States is troubling but fixable. The smartest way for the United States to increase participation among citizens without upending the established system is to move Election Day from Tuesday to Sunday.

Tuesday was originally selected as Election Day to accommodate slow 19th-century travel. Some farmers and rural residents needed three days to reach the polls, vote and return home, so Congress needed to choose a day early in the week as to not interfere with the entire workweek or Sunday worship. This criteria excluded all days except Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday was market day, so Tuesday was selected as the nationwide day for elections. Given modern transportation, the shift to urban society and the accessibility of polling places, however, none of the justifications for the original restrictions still apply.

The argument for making Tuesday’s Election Day a federal holiday is problematic. While a federal holiday during the workweek may increase voter turnout, it will not do so in an inclusive way. Many federal holidays only affect bank and government positions, leaving most lower-income workers, specifically those in service-related industries, stuck at work and unable to go to the polls. Making Election Day a holiday would only serve to increase the existing income disparity among voters since employers are not required to pay nonexempt employees for holiday time off.

This would be resolved if Election Day were on Sunday. That way workers in various fields are given an equal opportunity to vote. Even employers that operate on the weekend tend to keep shorter hours on Sunday. A move to Sunday may present inconveniences to churchgoers who devote Sunday for worship, but as The Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, has proven, religion and politics can, for at least one Sunday of the year, coexist. The church was able to take advantage of the election, encouraging churchgoers to get out and vote as part of their civic duty. Congregants arrived at church at 10:30 a.m., and the church led a “Souls to the Polls” drive following the service. Other communities in Georgia have had similar success with Sunday voting. 

The United States is faced with a participation problem that, for once, has a simple, effective solution. By moving Election Day to Sunday, voter turnout can be increased and all demographics properly represented.

A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, October 28 print edition.  Email Zarif Adnan at [email protected].