It's Election Day!

Well, the day has come. It is Election Day! The day where all American citizens should do their due diligence as a citizen and go out to vote. So if you haven't, please take advantage of one of the great rights we have as an American and vote!

For this country's very first federal election there was no federal law that specified when the election should take place. However, for the 1792 election, federal law permitted each state to conduct the presidential election within a 34 day period before the first Wednesday in December, which was the day set for the meeting of the electoral college. November was thought to be good month for an election because the harvest was over and it was before the really bad snowstorms started hitting. 

In 1845, the Congress chose an uniformed day for Election Day. The day chosen was the "first Tuesday in November". However, a debate took place because in some years the first Tuesday would be outside the 34 day period of time for the electoral college to meet on the first Wednesday in December. So the day was changed to "the Tuesday after the first Monday in November." (A fact that I did not know until I started researching for this post.) So now, the period between Election Day and the first Wednesday in December is always 29 days. The effect of the change was to make November 2 the earliest day on which Election Day may fall. This is why election day this year is on the 9th which isn't the first Tuesday of the month, but it is the first Tuesday after the first Monday of the month. Who knew!

We are luck enough to be in a state where there is early voting. DD and I did just that in late October. While I wasn't pleased with the choices we had, I did my duty as a citizen and voted. I based my vote on the principles I try to live and voted with a clear conscious. In the grand scheme of things, my vote may have not made a big difference, but at least I exercised my right to do so. 

So, please, go and do your duty even if you are disgusted with the choices. Vote your principles and vote your conscious, then you will have done your duty and what many people around the world don't get an opportunity to - VOTE!

Exercising your right as a citizen of the United States of America is simply a good thing!