Side by Side: Which Day of the Week Do They Vote?
Americans vote for Congress on Tuesday, a working day, and so many have already voted early that it is worth asking which day the other democracies chose, and why.
The United States elects its House of Representatives on Tuesday, and by noon on Friday some 47.92 million Americans had already voted early, past the 45.9 million of the 2022 midterms. One measure: the day of the week on which each country holds its national legislative vote, and what fixes it, law or habit.
United States
Tuesday, by statute: “the Tuesday next after the 1st Monday in November, in every even numbered year.” This year that is 3 November. The formula needs a Monday to come first, which keeps the vote off 1 November and off every weekend. Congress built a calendar puzzle to guarantee a working day.
Canada
Monday, by statute: section 57 of the Canada Elections Act says “polling day shall be on a Monday,” and outside fixed dates moves it to the Tuesday if that Monday is a holiday. Ottawa has written the start of the week into law, then a clause for the long weekend. The statute has planned for Thanksgiving more carefully than most hosts.
United Kingdom
Thursday, by convention: Parliament states there is “no statutory requirement” for it, yet every general election since 1935 has been held on one. Westminster runs its democracy on nine decades of habit, which in Britain outranks an Act.
South Korea
Wednesday: the National Assembly is elected on the first Wednesday after the 50th day before its term expires, and election day is a public holiday. Seoul chose the middle of the working week and then declared it not a working day, the only arrangement that gets both.
Brazil
Sunday, by the constitution: the first round falls on the first Sunday of October and any runoff on the last, 4 and 25 October this year. Brasília put the weekday in the 1988 Constitution itself, so changing election day is harder than changing the president.
Australia
Saturday, by law: polling day “must be a Saturday” at least 33 days after the writs are issued. Canberra gives itself a runway of at least 33 days, all of it to land on a day off.
Verdict
Two of these six vote at the weekend and four on weekdays, one of which Seoul promptly cancels as a weekday. Brasília is the hardest to move, having put Sunday in the constitution, and London the easiest, having put Thursday nowhere. Ottawa and Washington each wrote a working day into law, then added a holiday clause and a Monday formula to protect it. Washington still holds its election on a Tuesday; some 48 million Americans have treated it as a deadline rather than an appointment.
- 47.92 million early votes by noon on 30 October against 45.9 million in the 2022 midterms, University of Florida Election Lab count, Seoul Economic Daily
- Election day for Representatives set as the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in even numbered years, 2 U.S.C. 7, GovInfo
- Polling day must be a Saturday at least 33 days after the issue of the writs, Australian Electoral Commission
- First round on the first Sunday of October and runoff on the last Sunday, 4 and 25 October in 2026, set by the 1988 Constitution, TRE-SP
- National Assembly elections on the first Wednesday after the 50th day before the term expires, National Election Commission of Korea
- Election day designated a public holiday in South Korea, The Korea Herald
- Polling day shall be on a Monday, moved to the Tuesday when the Monday is a holiday, Canada Elections Act section 57, Justice Laws
- No statutory requirement for Thursday voting and every general election on a Thursday since 1935, UK Parliament