Watch CBS News

New Push To Hold Election Day On Weekend

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) - Some believe that holding Election Day on the weekend would increase voter turnout.

LISTEN: WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reports

Podcast

Rep. Steve Israel is pleased that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is supporting Saturday and Tuesday voting in San Francisco, but the Long Island Congressman is sponsoring a federal measure to move voting to Saturday and Sunday.

"One out of every four people who don't vote next Tuesday will say that they simply couldn't vote because Tuesday was inconvenient. They're working jobs. They have kids. It becomes a matter of a difficulty for them," Israel told WCBS 880 reporter Rich Lamb. "As a result of that, the United States is among the lowest in voter turnout among all democracies in the world."

Israel says we've been voting on Tuesday since the 1840s and it's time to join other democracies and move it to weekends.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.