[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1647 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1647

  To require that general Federal elections be held during the first 
  consecutive Saturday and Sunday in November, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 14, 2005

 Mr. Hastings of Florida (for himself, Mr. Honda, Mr. Abercrombie, Ms. 
  Lee, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Stark, and Mr. 
  Jefferson) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                   Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require that general Federal elections be held during the first 
  consecutive Saturday and Sunday in November, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Election Weekend Act''.

SEC. 2. CHANGE IN GENERAL ELECTION DATE.

    (a) Electors.--Section 1 of title 3, United States Code, is amended 
by striking ``on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November'' 
and inserting ``on the first consecutive Saturday and Sunday in 
November''.
    (b) Congressional Elections.--Section 25 of the Revised Statutes of 
the United States (2 U.S.C. 7) is amended to read as follows:
    ``Sec. 25. The first consecutive Saturday and Sunday in November in 
every even numbered year are established as the days for the election, 
in each of the States and Territories of the United States, of 
Representatives and Delegates to the Congress commencing on the 3d day 
of January thereafter.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to regularly scheduled general elections for Federal 
office held in November 2006 and each second year thereafter.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING TREATMENT OF DAY BY PRIVATE 
              EMPLOYERS.

    It is the sense of Congress that private employers in the United 
States should give their employees a day off on either day of the first 
consecutive Saturday and Sunday in November in 2006 and each second 
year thereafter to enable the employees to cast votes in the Federal 
and other elections held on that day.
                                 <all>