Why United States Election Day Is Always on a Tuesday

The excellent Last Week Tonight segment “How Is This Still a Thing?” posed the very valid question about why Election Day in the United States always takes place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, especially given the long-outdated reason for doing so.

…but the reason actually comes from 1845 law passed for a very 1845 reason. …Weekends were no good because of the Sabbath, so take Monday as a travel day and wha-la vote on Tuesdays. Yes we vote on Tuesdays because of the Sabbath, making voting day the only thing in American life still scheduled around Sundays other than the operating hours of Chick-Fil-A and new episodes of America’s Funniest Home Videos. …forced to squeeze in voting in between work doctor’s appointments…just so farmers who have been dead for more than a century won’t have an excuse to miss church. All of which returns us to the question – voting on Tuesday, how is this still a thing?