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The case for making Election Day an official holiday

Nov 3, 2020
Andrea Hailey, CEO of the nonprofit Vote.org, thinks making Election Day a national holiday would go far in increasing turnout.
"A lot of these businesses know that it's within their business interest to make sure that people can participate and vote," says Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Why more workers are getting paid time off on Election Day

Oct 1, 2020
A growing list of companies are allowing their employees to get the day off or paying them to work the polls.
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Why Election Day isn’t a federal holiday

Nov 2, 2016
Some say having the day off to vote will improve voter turnout, but it’s a tough sell to Congress and companies.
An early voter poses with a wrist band at a polling station in Chicago, Illinois. 
JOSHUA LOTT/AFP/Getty Images

Employed or not, voting ritual often the same

Nov 6, 2012
In many ways, the 2012 presidential election is a referendum on a number: the nation's unemployment rate of 7.9 percent. Reporters in Oklahoma City (unemployment around 5 percent) and San Bernardino, Calif., (unemployment pushing 12 percent) look behind the numbers.

The Sandy effect on election night

Nov 1, 2012
Voter turnout may be lower than expected on the East Coast, but results could stay the same.

Campaigns reboot after Sandy

Oct 31, 2012
Election officials in storm-stricken counties scramble ahead of voting day.