Election day

This article is about the general term "election day" worldwide. For other uses, see Election day (disambiguation).

Election days throughout the world.

Election day refers to the day when general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate, while in other countries elections are always held on a weekday. However, some countries, or regions within a country, always make a weekday election day a public holiday, thus satisfying both demands. Many countries permit absentee ballots or early ballots to be cast by mail prior to the election, thereby avoiding the problem altogether.

An election day usually culminates in an election night when the results of the election are tallied and winners are announced.^[1]

Monday

In the following countries general elections are held on Mondays:

Canada, unless Monday is a holiday, in which case election day is the following Tuesday
Norway, though municipalities are also permitted to open polling stations on the preceding Sunday
Philippines
Trinidad and Tobago

Tuesday

In the following countries general elections are held on Tuesdays:

Denmark, although the most recent general election was held on a Thursday instead.
Israel
United States - "Tuesday following the first Monday of November" ^[2]

Wednesday

In the following countries general elections are held on Wednesdays:

India, the 2009 general election was held over a period of 4 weeks with election days on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Netherlands
South Africa, elections have been held on a Wednesday in either April or June every 5 years since 1994
South Korea, making the election day as a holiday.

Thursday

In the following countries general elections are held on Thursdays:

India, the 2009 general election was held over a period of four weeks with election days on Wednesdays and Thursdays
United Kingdom^[2]

Friday

In the following countries general elections are held on Fridays:

Czech Republic, afternoon
Republic of Ireland

Saturday

In the following countries general elections are held on Saturdays:

Sunday

In the following countries general elections are held on Sundays:

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Other parliamentary bodies

Elections in the European Union take place over a period of four days (i.e., Thursday through to Sunday), according to the election days of the EU members states (as listed above). There are some exceptions; as Wednesday was not covered by the available dates, the Netherlands holds elections on Thursday, while Denmark holds elections on Sunday.

References

↑ Graeme Orr, Ritual and Rhythm in Electoral Systems: A Comparative Legal Account (2016), Chapter 10.
1 2 "Election Day". Your Holiday Directory. Gone-ta-pott.com. Retrieved 15 May 2010.

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