Election day

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]

Election day by country

Country Region Election day
 Albania Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Argentina South America Fourth Sunday of October immediately before the end of the current mandates.[2]
 Austria Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Australia Oceania Held on a Saturday.[3]
 Belgium Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Bolivia South America Held on a Sunday.
 Bosnia and Herzegovina Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Brazil South America First Sunday of October. In a case of a runnoff, it will happen on the last Sunday of the same October.
 Bulgaria Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Canada North America Third Monday of October every four years, or after Parliament is dissolved by the Governor General.[4]
 Chile South America Held on a Sunday.
 Colombia South America Held on a Sunday.
 Czech Republic Europe Traditionally elections are held starting on a Friday afternoon and ending on Saturday afternoon.[5]
 Cyprus Europe Held on a Saturday.[6]
 Costa Rica South America Held on a Sunday.
 Croatia Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Denmark Europe Tuesday is most common, but other days are used frequently.[7]
 Ecuador South America Held on a Sunday.
 El Salvador South America Held on a Sunday.
 Estonia Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Finland Europe Held on a Sunday.
 France Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Germany Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Greece Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Hong Kong Asia Held on a Sunday.
 Hungary Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Iceland Europe Held on a Saturday.
 Ireland Europe Typically on a Friday, but precise date set by Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government.[8]
 Israel Asia By law on the third Tuesday of Cheshvan, but normally held on a different day.[9]
 Italy Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Japan Asia Held on a Sunday.
 Latvia Europe Held on a Saturday.[6]
 Lebanon Asia Held on a Sunday.
 Lithuania Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Luxembourg Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Macedonia Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Malta Europe Held on a Saturday.[6]
 Malaysia Asia Traditionally on Weekends. In GE 2018, election day is set on Wednesday, which might affect voter turnout.[10]
 Mexico North America Held on a Sunday.
 Montenegro Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Netherlands Europe Typically on a Wednesday.
 New Zealand Oceania Held on a Saturday.[11]
 Nicaragua North America Held on a Sunday.
 Norway Europe Monday in early September. Exact date set by the King of Norway.[12]
 Panama North America Held on a Sunday.
 Paraguay South America Held on a Sunday.
 Peru South America Held on a Sunday.
 Philippines Asia Second Monday in May.[13]
 Poland Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Portugal Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Romania Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Russia Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Serbia Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Singapore Asia Usually held on a Saturday. Polling day is usually an official holiday.
 Slovakia Europe Held on a Saturday.[6]
 Slovenia Europe Held on a Sunday.
 South Korea Asia Usually a Wednesday. Election day is a national holiday.[14]
 Spain Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Sweden Europe Held on the second Sunday of September. [15]
  Switzerland Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Taiwan Asia Held on a Saturday.[16]
 Thailand Asia Held on a Sunday.
 Turkey Europe Held on a Sunday.
 Ukraine Europe Held on a Sunday.
 United Kingdom Europe Held on a Thursday.
 United States North America First Tuesday after the first Monday in November.[17]
 Uruguay South America Held on a Sunday.
 Venezuela South America Held on a Sunday.

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.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Graeme Orr, Ritual and Rhythm in Electoral Systems: A Comparative Legal Account (2016), Chapter 10.
  2. ↑ "National Electoral Code – Article 53 and 148". InfoLEG (in Spanish).
  3. ↑ "Elections and voting in Australia" (PDF). Museum of Australian Democracy. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  4. ↑ "Elections Canada". Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  5. ↑ "General elections 2017". Radio Prague. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Holding the Election". www.vaalit.fi. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  7. ↑ Folketignet (January 2011). "The Parliamentary Electoral System in Denmark" (PDF). p. 18. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  8. ↑ Ryan, Phillip; Horan, Niamh; O'Connor, Niall (31 Jan 2016). "Six Nations match at the centre of row over election date - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  9. ↑ "With full term possible, Netanyahu may outlast Ben-Gurion (and Obama)". The Jerusalem Post. 24 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Malaysia's election on a Wednesday favors PM, opposition says". 13 April 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  11. ↑ "General elections 1853-2017 - dates and turnout". www.elections.org.nz. The Electoral Commission of New Zealand. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  12. ↑ "The main features of the Norwegian electoral system". Government.no. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  13. ↑ Lazo, Ricardo S. (2009). Philippine governance and the 1987 constitution (2009 2nd ed.). Manila, Philippines: Published & distributed by Rex Book Store. p. 161. ISBN 9789712345463.
  14. ↑ Butcher, Luke. "The Effectiveness of Early Voting – A Case Study of the Republic of Korea" (PDF). Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "Elections in Sweden". V-Dem. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  16. ↑ "Election Day in Taiwan". Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  17. ↑ Montanaro, Domenico (1 November 2016). "Why Do We Vote On Tuesdays?". NPR.org. Retrieved 21 November 2017.

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