It is supposed that the elections are free. But if the elections are done a working day, it limits the people who can vote. People that are working is possible that they cannot go to vote, and the corporation for who they are working doesn't need to give the free day to go to vote. That can be a limitation of the free elections, because not anybody can go. The elections should be done a day that in theory no one goes to work, like the Sundays.
I wonder about this also. We vote on Saturdays in Australia. Nothing like swinging by the polling station on the way to the beach, then enjoy the sun and surf.
It's tradition. But it's stupid. A great example of why doing something just because we've always done it that way is dumb. I personally think that election day should be a mid-week holiday, and there should be all sorts of voting-related events -- parades, musical acts, food vendors, voting parties, etc. It would be a great way to remove illegitimate barriers to voting (like "can't afford to take off work"), while embedding in people the idea that voting is both a gift and something important that they should take seriously.
Under any decent system, voting shouldn't take very long (if not, that's a separate issue) and the polls on the day will be open before you start word and/or after you finish. You could actually get more people unable or unwilling to vote of a weekend - weekend activities are more likely to take someone away from home and people are more willing to interrupt work than recreation - not the mention the fact lots of people do work on weekends these days. Quite frankly, this kind of complaint always sounds more like an excuse than a reason.
Because our electoral system and process are made of (*)(*)(*)(*) and our electorate is apathetic, uninformed, and unmotivated to do their civic duty. Oh and when Democrats vote Democrats win and Republicans would rather advocate voter disenfanchisement and subvert democracy than lose an election. Don't get me wrong, I love America with all my heart, but that doesn't mean there aren't certain things about it that a find abhorrent and destructive to its future.
The same reason why schools let out for 3 months during the summer. It's a long-standing tradition that is inconvenient and counterproductive but just refuses to die.
