Thursday, July 31, 2008

Why do we vote on Tuesday's?

Have you ever wondered why we settled on Tuesday as the day of national elections? I always assumed it was tied to our agrarian history as lots of oddities of American life are rooted in this history (ie. the 9 month school year). Turns out I was on the right path and Ezra Klein points us towards the answer.

1 comment:

Andrew Oh-Willeke said...

But why the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, rather than the first Tuesday in November?

It just so happens that this formula minimizes the number of days from Guy Fawkes day within the constraint that the election always be held on the same day of the week.