One of the United States’ greatest attributes is its democracy, the ability for its people to vote in elections. Voting and elections in the United States follow specific rules and regulations, ensuring voting equality and fairness.
In this article, you’ll learn about voting on Election Day, including some information on how national elections work.
At EnglishClass101.com, we hope to make every aspect of your language-learning journey both fun and informative!
1. What is Election Day?
When people talk about Election Day, they’re usually talking about the federal offices in the United States.
Is Election Day a national holiday in the US?
For most people in the United States, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November is a workday. This has been controversial for many years. Some people have advocated that Election Day be made an official federal holiday so that everybody has the day off to vote at their leisure.
But while Election Day isn’t a national holiday, people are required to have time off to vote in the election.
The United States does not vote on a popular vote system. The Electoral College determines the winner of a given state, which translates to a certain amount of electoral votes, making some states much more important than others to politicians.
2. When is Election Day in the United States?
Each year, the United States has its Election Day on a Tuesday in November, following the first Monday that month. For your convenience, here’s a list of Election Day’s date for the next ten years.
- 2019: November 5
- 2020: November 3
- 2021: November 2
- 2022: November 8
- 2023: November 7
- 2024: November 5
- 2025: November 4
- 2026: November 3
- 2027: November 2
- 2028: November 7
Keep in mind that some years are considered “off-years.” 2019 is such a year. Further, Presidential elections take place every four years.
3. What to Expect on Election Day
Election Day in the United States means the end of long periods of campaigning, something which many Americans are grateful to see come about. It also means that polling places have long lines and that people sit by the TV, radio, or computer waiting to hear the results as soon as they’re turned in.
With elections held, the media in the United States covers Election Day like nothing else. In fact, this is one of the most competitive times of the year for media in general. All of the most popular and best known anchormen and women will be behind a desk with a map of the United States showing where the electoral votes of those states are going as soon as the results are available.
4. Why November?
Can you guess why the United States has always tried to position Election Day in November?
The November date of Election Day is due to the fact that the US was largely an agrarian society when the first elections were held. By November, most farmers had their produce harvested and could then make the sometimes long trip to town to vote.
5. Must-Know Vocabulary for United States Election Day
Here’s some essential vocabulary you should know for Election Day in the United States!
- Washington D.C.
- Politician
- Election Day
- Voter
- Election
- Candidate
- Campaign
- Ballot
- Democratic Party
- Government
- Poll
- Vote
- Delegate
- Front-runner
- Did you vote?
- Every vote counts!
- Who are you going to vote for?
- Lobby
To hear each of these vocabulary words pronounced, be sure to check out our Election Day vocabulary list!
Final Thoughts
We hope you enjoyed learning about United States Election Day with us! Did you learn anything new? Does your country have a similar day for elections? Let us know in the comments!
If you’re interested in delving further into U.S. culture, you may be interested in the following pages:
- How to Read Body Language in the United States
- Top 20 Words You’ll Need for the Internet
- Top 30 Travel Phrases You Should Know
- What are the Top 10 American Movies?
- English Vocabulary for the Star Spangled Banner
- Top 5 Things You Need to Know About American Society
We know that English is a difficult language to learn, so we commend you for making the effort. At EnglishClass101.com, we aim to make your language-learning experience as fun and painless as possible.
Happy learning!
