Resolution to Make Election Day a Legal Holiday

WHEREAS many Americans living in cities face long lines at their polling places, which is exacerbated by most people having to go to the polls before or after work; and

WHEREAS, many Americans have long commutes to work, making it difficult to get to the polls; and

WHEREAS, polling sites need volunteers to be poll watchers and poll workers and the pool of volunteers is limited to those who aren’t working during the day; and

WHEREAS, the pool of Americans who are available to volunteer to drive neighbors, friends, church or community members to the polls is also limited to those who aren’t working during the day; and

WHEREAS, the number of polling places across the country was significantly reduced from 2016 to 2020 including six states—California, Maryland, Kentucky, Nevada, New Jersey and North Dakota—that reduced their number of polling places by half and in Baltimore alone, the number of Election Day polling places went from 296 to 24;i and

WHEREAS, 20 states and the District of Columbia have no laws giving Americans in those states time off to vote; and

WHEREAS, in the vast majority of states that do have such laws, the requirement to give time off to vote is undercut by a caveat that the requirement does not count if the voter has personal time before or after work, which ignores the challenges of Americans who have children or long commutes or who are struggling to make ends meet with two or three jobs; and

WHEREAS, in the majority of states that do have a requirement to give time off to vote and don’t have the above caveat, the time off is unpaid;ii and

WHEREAS, a Pew Research Center survey found that among those asked about why they didn’t vote, “being too busy or having a conflicting schedule” was the third most common reason; iii and

WHEREAS, another Pew Research study found that 72% of Americans support making Election Day a national holiday;iv

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE KOOTENAI COUNTY REPUBLICAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE, that the committee recommends that the Idaho legislature, the Idaho Attorney General and the Idaho Congressional and Senatorial caucus in Washington DC support Idaho state and federal legislation making Presidential and mid-term November Election Days every two years a state and national holiday; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee wishes this resolution to be submitted to the Resolutions Committee at the Idaho GOP 2024 Summer Convention; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee is directed to convey this resolution quickly to the Attorney General and the Idaho Congressional and Senatorial Caucus representing us in Washington, DC, with a goal of passage of state and federal legislation making Presidential and mid-term November Election Days every two years a state and national holiday prior to the November 2024 election.

PASSED by the KCRCC April 23rd 2024