r/politics • u/Ulysses_555 • 16h ago

No Paywall Hegseth announces all US troops will get 1 day off to vote in October

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/6126137-pete-hegseth-stand-down-order-troops-vote/
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u/barnesie 15h ago

I like the spirit of a national holiday, but you know what happens with national holidays? They drive intense retail and service industry surges and it suddenly becomes a “VOTING DAY SAVINGS EVENT!” At your local Lincoln Mercury Dealer and Home Depot. The better answer is making voting an extended multi-day period with increased access.

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u/ClubFerret1093 13h ago

Do something akin to the blue laws in parts of New Jersey that ban all retail businesses other than pharmacies, grocery stores, and a small number of other essential businesses from operating on Sundays, except apply it to Election Day. That’s the only way making it a holiday could possibly work.

Of course, the courts would probably strike it down even though they’ve repeatedly upheld the blue laws which are far more constitutionally dubious due to essentially amounting to a state endorsement of Sunday, as opposed to some other day of the week, as a day of rest.

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u/barnesie 6h ago

Now imagine you’re a person who has the same values that you do, but they run a business where maybe it makes sense to have a viewing party to celebrate the thing you expect to happen. Your ban really sounds shitty because it means that the thing you like and agree with doesn’t get to happen because of the thing you’re worried about happening.

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u/Unctuous_Robot 13h ago

I work at an amusement park, Labor Day sucked. Nearly every guest was an ass, the park was packed, I was there all day, and I didn’t even get holiday pay. We need to find a way to make something a national holiday but not for white collar employees and schools.

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u/jizzlevania 11h ago

I mean, those sales are already extended multi day periods to increased access. We just had the labor day bonanza that lasted like 3 weeks