congress has set the day for national elections as
a. the monday after the third tuesday in november in even-numbered years
b. the tuesday after the first monday in november in even-numbered years
c. the monday after the first tuesday in may in even-numbered years
d. the tuesday after the first monday in november in odd-numbered years
b
I ALREADY WROTE THIS QUESTION TWICE!! SORRY!
You are correct; (b) is the answer.
The correct answer is b. The national elections in the United States are set by Congress to take place on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years.
To understand why this specific date was chosen, we need to consider the historical and logistical aspects of conducting elections in the United States.
Historically, the date for national elections was not standardized, and states had different election dates. This created confusion and made it difficult to coordinate federal elections. To address this, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1968, which aimed to provide a convenient three-day weekend for federal holidays by moving several holidays to Mondays.
As part of this act, Congress established Election Day as "the Tuesday after the first Monday in November" for federal elections. This decision was based on multiple factors:
1. Avoiding conflict with religious observances: By ensuring that the election falls on a Tuesday, Congress aimed to avoid any potential conflicts with religious observances, such as Sundays (commonly observed as a day of rest) and Saturdays (Sabbath day for Jewish communities).
2. Allowing time for travel: By choosing the Tuesday after the first Monday, it allows people who need to travel to their voting locations the opportunity to do so. This is particularly important for voters who may need to travel long distances to reach their polling stations.
3. Encouraging voter turnout: Placing the election day early in November allows for better weather conditions across most regions of the country, which can potentially increase voter turnout. Moreover, by not having the election fall on the first day or last day of the month, it avoids conflicts with monthly paydays and end-of-month activities.
Now that you know why the specific date for national elections was chosen, you can confidently understand that the correct answer is b. The national elections take place on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years.