Congresswoman Louise Slaughter is introducing legislation that would move Election Day in an effort to increase turnout.
The Fairport Democrat says the ‘Weekend Voting Act’ would move Election Day from the first Tuesday in November to the first Saturday and Sunday after the first Friday in November.
Slaughter introduced the bill on Susan B. Anthony’s birthday, “In honor of Rochester’s trailblazing activist who dedicated her life to ensuring everyone had equal access to the ballot box,” said Rep. Slaughter.
Slaughter says that having Election Day on a Tuesday hurts voter turnout and says not enough has been done to change that.
“I think that we have been settling for the fact that if we can get 30 or 40 percent out to vote that that’s really a banner year, that is not good at all,” she told WXXI News.
Slaughter says the change would especially help people who are in the workforce.
“One thing this bill would do too is it would do away with those long lines of people waiting and discouraging them from having to vote. I’m sure a lot of people in those lines had to go back to work and couldn’t stay there to do what as American citizens, they’re entitled and I think are expected to do.”
Several other Congressional Democrats have joined Slaughter as original co-sponsors of the legislation.
