This commentary is by David M. Roth of St. Johnsbury, an agricultural entrepreneur.
You need only glance at the news to see the daily assault on voting rights across our country. Even though these malicious and overtly racist efforts began well before Donald Trump’s defeat, the emotional and political repercussions of the most contentious election in decades have given fresh energy to those who would strive to engineer a new Jim Crow under the pretense of addressing so-called “voting irregularities” and outright lies about nonexistent voter fraud.
Let’s be clear: Allegations of rampant voter fraud are dog whistles for those who would seek to disenfranchise voters who overwhelmingly vote for the policies that and politicians who fiercely protect human and civil rights. We are living in a moment of great division — a moment that calls for bold action from individuals and institutions committed to the expansion of voting rights as opposed to their restriction.
So, what are our options? One of them should be immediately championed by Vermonters, who have always been leaders in championing freedom; we should expand on our Town Meeting Day tradition by also making Election Day a state holiday.
We already know that more people vote when voting is easy and part of the routine of our lives. No voter should ever have to decide between going to work or going to vote. Adding an official Vermont holiday to the existing tools that our Brave Little State utilizes to encourage voting would have national repercussions and would send a clear message that Vermonters vote with pride and that Vermont never will restrict the right to vote — but in fact will always make the exercise of our rights as easy as possible.
The establishment of an Election Day holiday is not simply the aspiration of activists; according to a recent Pew poll, over 70% of the American people support the idea. Corporate America has even weighed in approvingly. Charlie Scharf, the CEO of the quintessential American corporation, Wells Fargo, recently made clear that “Wells Fargo supports the right of every American to exercise their voice by voting. This is a key pillar of our democracy and we oppose legislation that attempts to limit this right or is discriminatory in nature. We also encourage Congress to establish Federal Election Day as a national holiday, thereby establishing the importance of this right.”
At the federal level, our own Sen. Bernie Sanders repeatedly and unsuccessfully introduced the Democracy Day Act in 2014, 2015 and 2018. The measure “designates Federal Election Day, the next Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each even-numbered year, as a legal public holiday.”
How simple and how reasonable! As a point of comparison, 30 of the 37 member countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development designate Election Day as a national holiday. It is not a badge of honor to be in the minority of nations that do not make it as easy as possible to vote.
There would be another option, however. Assuming opposition to the creation of a new Federal Election Day holiday persists, it would also be possible to simply move Election Day by a week to coincide with the already existing Veterans Day holiday on Nov. 11. As Harvard historian Jill Lepore wrote, “… moving Election Day to Veterans Day, Nov. 11, would honor the sacrifices of veterans; it would remind Americans that voting is a national duty, an obligation both to one another and to the nation; and it would strengthen American democratic political culture, by way of new rituals and traditions.” Difficult to argue with that logic.
Sadly, it is safe to assume that Congress will continue to resist all progress on this issue, so we should not delay doing what Vermont does best — lead. Let us take a stand now as we have done so many times before and make Election Day a Vermont state holiday.
Clearly, doing so would not immediately change the crisis of disenfranchisement that faces our country, but acting in solidarity with other forward-looking states while continuing our tradition of encouraging and protecting civic participation would send a clear message at a critical time that Vermont will always lead toward freedom.
President Calvin Coolidge said it best: “If the spirit of liberty should vanish in other parts of the union and support of our institutions should languish, it could all be replenished from the generous store held by the people of this Brave Little State of Vermont.”
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April 23, 2021 at 10:50PM
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David Roth: Vermont should take the lead and make Election Day a holiday - vtdigger.org
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