election day
As election day , the day is called when the population to elections within a democratic system of government is called. In some countries, election day falls on the same day or week of the year for each parliamentary term . Others only specify the day of the week. In the case of elections lasting several days, as practiced in some countries, the election date covers the entire period in which voting is possible.
The election date must be differentiated from the beginning of an election period ( called legislative period in parliaments ). This begins at the earliest after the announcement of the election results , but generally only on the day of the first, so-called constituent meeting .
Voting and election day - In Switzerland, the votes, and now and then also elections, take place before and up to four voting dates every year .
In states with a federal government structure, elections take place at several levels of government, for example as parliamentary elections at federal and state level and as local elections in cities and towns.
Election day in Germany
The constitutions of the 19th century in Germany did not specify election day; as a rule, voting was held on a weekday during the week. The first applications to move election day to Sunday failed in the Reichstag of the North German Confederation in 1866 and 1869 by Social Democrats. Since the Weimar Constitution (WRV) came into force on August 11, 1919, election day in Germany has to be a Sunday or a public holiday (Art. 22 WRV). This provision was only included in the second reading of the Weimar National Assembly , while the question in the draft was to be left to the ordinary legislature. The election day is not regulated in more detail in the Basic Law ; the date of the Bundestag election is determined by the Federal President . Under simple law, the federal election law and other laws stipulate that it must be a Sunday. The elections for the people's representatives in the federal, state, local and European Parliament do not necessarily take place on the same day. In 2012, Manfred Güllner suggested that election day be held on a weekday in order to increase voter turnout.
Voting and election date in Switzerland
Elections and votes found in Switzerland in the weeks before a "vote Sunday" instead (also " polls "). Early voting is the rule in the four (to five) weeks before, usually by letter voting . On the traditional voting Sunday, the voting and polling stations close at 12 noon. The results that citizens count with the help of their offices are usually available on the same day in the afternoon or early evening.
At the federal level, the National Council and the Council of States are elected every four years in the weeks before the penultimate Sunday in October, together with one of the four voting dates that are reserved for referendums and elections each year - in February / March, in May / June, September / October and the end of November.
Voting and election dates at canton and commune level are set at cantonal and communal level, but almost always in such a way that they coincide with federal votes .
Election Day in the United States
In the United States , since 1845, congressional and presidential elections have been held on the Tuesday falling between November 2nd and November 8th (literally: "first Tuesday after the first Monday in November," "the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November." November"). This day was chosen so that election day does not fall on All Saints' Day . A Tuesday was chosen to keep Monday free for traveling to the polling stations that were initially only scattered around - many of the regular horse-drawn carriages did not go on Sundays. Others give the reason that the day of arrival to the polling station should not fall on a Sunday and therefore Monday was ruled out, while Wednesday was out of the question because farmers' markets were often held on this weekday. Most states have adopted Tuesday as election day for domestic primary and general elections, while Tennessee primary is on Thursday, Hawaii and Louisiana are on Saturday.
Election day is a public holiday in some states . In some others, eligible voters have the right to leave the workplace to vote, but without receiving any wage compensation. Bills were repeatedly introduced to Congress that would make election day a national holiday. In order to increase the turnout even though the election takes place during the working week, some states have switched to allowing their citizens to vote before election day. Postal voting is also possible in all states.
Most states have their general and gubernatorial elections coincident with federal election day, but local elections often take place at different times.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Scientific services : Sunday as election day, historical background in Germany and election day in the EU member states as well as in Norway and Switzerland. WD 1-3000-167 / 14, December 2, 2014 (PDF) .
- ↑ Andrea Römmle: Turnout on weekdays - a short answer to Manfred Güllner. In: Zeit Online , August 6, 2012.
- ↑ See planned blank voting dates for referendums and National Council elections in Switzerland for the next 20 years, on admin.ch ( Federal Chancellery ).
- ↑ Nicholas P. Fandos: Why is Tenn. primary on Thursday? In: Politico , August 7, 2014.