Is Election Day a Federal Holiday?

With voters heading to the polls in just three days, some are wondering if Election Day is recognized as a holiday in the United States as they make their plans to vote.

According to the federal government, general elections in the United States are held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November, meaning Election Day always falls on or between Nov. 2 and Nov. 8.

While 11 states and one territory, including Illinois, recognize Election Day as a public holiday, the U.S. government does not currently list Election Day as a federal holiday.

The following states and territories, in addition to Illinois, recognize Election Day as a public holiday:

• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Montana
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Puerto Rico
• Virginia
• West Virginia

While Tuesdays have been custom for elections in the United States, Sunday is the day of preference for much of the world, including the vast majority of South America and Europe.

As for the United States' neighbors, Mexico holds their elections on Sundays and Canada holds general elections on Mondays.

According to Britannica, the origins of elections being held on Tuesdays began with an effort to set a unified Election Day in the mid-1800's, with legislation setting the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November taking effect in 1845.

At the time, the U.S. was primarily agrarian, requiring many rural Americans to take a travel day to make it to a polling place in the era before automobiles.

Sundays and Wednesdays were ruled out by officials, due to the country's majority-Christian population taking Sunday as a worship day, and Wednesday typically being a market day where farmers traveled to towns to sell their crops.

As Sundays and Wednesdays were unavailable for travel days for many, that also took Mondays and Thursdays out of the equation for elections. Tuesdays were therefore perceived to be the best option.