Bills
| 3.23.22

Moving Election Day to the Weekend (H.R. 3910)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 3910?

(Updated January 27, 2020)

This bill, known as the Weekend Voting Act, would turn Election Day into Election Weekend. If passed, America would vote in presidential and midterm elections on the Saturday and Sunday after the first Friday in November. Currently, voting happens on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Specifically, polls throughout the continental United States would be open from Saturday at 10:00 am to Sunday at 6:00 pm EST. States would be allowed to close polling places overnight if necessary. Polling places outside of the continental US would open for the same timeframe, but would adhere to local time instead of EST.

Argument in favor

Tuesday voting is outdated and makes it difficult for many Americans to vote, especially students, seniors, and low-income people.

Argument opposed

Switching Election Day would confuse voters and introduce logistical problems, like finding election officials willing to work on the weekend.

Impact

American voters — especially those with weekday obligations, politicians who run for office, election judges and officials

Cost of H.R. 3910

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In Depth: This bill is intended to make voting easier for Americans who have class, work, and other obligations on weekdays. Some states require employers to allow employees time to vote, but many do not. The 2014 midterm elections had the lowest voter turnout since 1942, with just 36 percent of eligible voters participating.


Of Note: Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) previously introduced this legislation in 2012 and 2009. In a press release, he stated:

“In 1845, Congress decided that voting on a Tuesday made sense because it was the easiest day for farmers in our agrarian society to get to the polls. But times have changed… It’s clear that voting on Tuesday doesn’t make sense anymore.”


Rep. Israel isn’t the only one who supports a Voting Day switch: The nonprofit Why Tuesday? has advocated for weekend voting since 2005.



Media:

Summary by Katie Rose Quandt

(Photo Credit: Flickr user Joe Hall)