Have you ever been frustrated with the government? I’m sure you have. I know I have. Have you ever wondered about why we do certain things? Why do things happen on certain days? What reason is it that we still carryout pointless and outdated traditions? Why do we still vote on Tuesday? How utterly inconvenient. Have you ever really thought about it? Someone has. Jacob Soboroff has wondered, Why Tuesday? But not many people do. No one talks about it. It’s not breaking news. Why not you ask? Because no one would make money on switching the day people in Pennsylvania vote. That’s why.

But why do I care? Turning 18 this month and planning on participating in the upcoming election next month, I want to be able to vote conveniently. I don’t think that’s too much to ask. There is only one day that I can vote in Pennsylvania. In other states you can vote by mail-in ballot. In Pennsylvania, you have to be eligible to get one. There is a very small specific group of people eligible for one, and I am not. So If I wanted to vote, I couldn't do it at my leisure.

There is no current pending legislation about when we vote. Previously, the bill S. 144 was to change the date for regularly scheduled Federal elections and establish polling place hours. This bill was supported by Sen. Herbert Kohl and Jon Corzine. I can’t find anyone working against it. I also can’t imagine someone who would want to work against it. So why is nothing being done yet?

Sen. Herbert Kohl has brought up multiple bills to change the date for regularly scheduled Federal elections and establish polling place hours.

Failed Bills

Multiple bills have been brought to the attention of congress to try to get something done. Why have none of them passed? I think it’s because there is no monetary gain for anyone. No one is interested in pursuing this issue because there is no money to be made.

Congressman Brady was elected Chairman of the Committee on House Administration in May of 2007. He works for a lot of nature preservation and also human rights. His district is the 1st district of Philadelphia.

The ‘Brady Bunch’

Robert Brady is my congressman. He has not had a chance to vote on any bills related to the topic of when we can vote because all 6 of them never made it out of committee.

I wouldn’t say that this is a good year or a bad year for improving out voting system. According to whytuesday.org, “There were lots of election returns to pay attention to last night, [November 2nd] but there was one in particular we had our eye on. “Proposition I” in San Francisco, also known as the “Saturday Voting Act,” passed, establishing a Saturday Election Day in addition to the traditional Tuesday one for the November 2011 general election there. According to the data, voters there cast their ballots overwhelmingly in favor of the proposition.”

Locally, I would say it’s a fairly bad year as far as media attention and coverage goes. There’s no real public support. There are no opponents, no one seems to care enough about it. No one is actively working to keep the day we vote on Tuesday.

I should coordinate with Sophia, who has the same topic.

I believe that the best people to influence are my peers. Young voters are the ones who should care the most about this issue. They are the future voters and getting them to come out and vote is important and it is clear that in order to ensure high voter turnouts, we should make it as easy and convenient as possible for people to get out and vote!