AWESOME FACTS ABOUT EVERYTHING  LXXII

Election Day Facts

1. Voting on Tuesday is hardly a convenience now, but it was in the 19th century. Farmers often had to travel long distances to the nearest polling place. They didn't want to travel on Sunday, and they needed to be back home for market day on Wednesday. Farming also explains why we vote in November - the harvest was over.

2. The 2020 American presidential race lasted 1,194 days - more than three years. In Japan, by law, political campaigns cannot last more than twelve days. In France, they can last no longer than two weeks.

3. Election Day used to look a lot like a frat party. George Washington won a seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1758 after spending his entire campaign budget, 50 pounds, on 160 gallons of liquor to woo voters. Buying votes with booze was the norm until 1811, when Maryland passed the first campaign finance reform law prohibiting the purchase of alcohol for voters.

4. The Constitution did not specify the date of Election Day, but left it up to the individual states. In 1845, Congress stepped in to set a uniform day for presidential elections - the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. In non-presidential election years, states are not obligated to hold elections on that day, but most do.