[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 156 (Saturday, November 8, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S12130]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KOHL:
  S. 1463. A bill to change the date for regularly scheduled Federal 
elections and establish polling place hours; to the Committee on Rules 
and Administration.


                           WEEKEND VOTING ACT

  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise to discuss a disturbing trend in our 
democracy--the decline of voter turnout in our elections.
  During the past 2 years we have debated at length our campaign 
finance system. We have seen in ample detail the corrupting influences 
invading our elections, and the effect these stories are having on the 
American public. Voters are increasingly distrustful of their system of 
government. They have lost confidence in America's institutions, its 
leaders, and its electoral process.
  The Senate is taking steps to reform the campaign finance system, and 
I am hopeful that before the spring we will have a campaign finance 
reform bill to present to the American public. But there are other 
reforms which we can undertake to restore citizens' faith in our 
democracy and increase participation in elections.
  For decades we've seen a gradual decline in voter turnout. In 1952, 
about 63 percent of eligible voters came out to vote--that number 
dropped to about 49 percent in the 1996 election. Non-Presidential year 
voter turnout is even more abysmal.
  Analysts point to a variety of reasons for this dropoff. Certainly, 
common sense suggests that the general decline in voter confidence in 
government institutions is one logical reason. However, I'd like to 
point out, one survey of voters and nonvoters suggested that both 
groups are equally disgruntled with government.
  We must explore ways to make our electoral process more user 
friendly. We must adjust our institutions to the needs of the American 
public of the 21st century. Our democracy has always had the amazing 
capacity to adapt to the challenges thrown before it, and we must 
continue to do so if our country is to grow and thrive.
  I propose that we consider innovative ways to increase voter turnout 
and enhance our citizens' impression of the process. One way to do this 
would be change the hours that polls are open.
  Mr. President, today I am introducing the Weekend Voting Act of 1997, 
which would change the day for congressional and presidential elections 
from the first Tuesday in November to the first weekend in November.
  Mr. President, I come from the business world, where you had a 
perfect gauge of what the public thought of you and your products. If 
you turned a profit, you knew the public liked your product--if you 
didn't, you knew you needed to make changes. If customers weren't 
showing up when your store was open, you knew you had to change your 
store hours.
  In essence, it's time for the American democracy to change its store 
hours. Since the mid-19th century, election day has been on the first 
Tuesday of November. Ironically, this date was selected because it was 
convenient for voters. Tuesdays were traditionally court day, and land-
owning voters were often coming to town anyway.
  Just as the original selection of our national voting day was done 
for voter convenience, we must adapt to the changes in our society to 
make voting easier for the regular family. Two in every three 
households have both parents working. Since most polls in the U.S. are 
open only 12 hours, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., voters often have only 1 or 
2 hours to vote. If they have children, and are dropping them off at 
day care, voters often must take time off work to vote.
  We can do better by offering more flexible voting hours for all 
Americans, especially working families.
  Under this bill, polls would be open nationwide for a uniform period 
of time from Saturday, 6 p.m. eastern time to Sunday, 6 p.m. eastern 
time. Polls in other time zones would also open and close at this time. 
Some Western States have complained that early return information 
broadcast over television networks has decreased voter turnout. By 
establishing uniform nationwide voting schedules, this problem would be 
solved.
  I should note, while I've been an advocate of weekend voting for some 
time, it was NBC Anchor Tom Brokaw who suggested the uniform voting 
schedule, and I thank him for his contribution to this proposal.
  Mr. President, of 27 democracies, 17 of them allow their citizens to 
vote on holidays or the weekends. And in nearly every one of these 
nations, voter turnout surpasses our country's poor performance. We can 
do better.
  Like most innovative plans, States already are experimenting with 
novel ways to increase voter turnout and satisfaction. Texas has 
implemented an early voting plan, California has relaxed restrictions 
on absentee voting, and Oregon's special election for Senator in 1996 
was done entirely by mail. While results are still inconclusive whether 
these new models increase voter turnout, there is no doubt that voters 
are much more pleased with the additional convenience and ease with 
voting.
  Under the Weekend Voting Act, States would be permitted to close the 
polls during the overnight hours if they determine it would be 
inefficient to keep them open. Because the polls are open from Saturday 
to Sunday, they would not interfere with religious observances.
  I know that partisans in both parties will decry this plan as 
detrimental to their candidates. Republican consultants will worry that 
union households that traditionally vote Democratic will have more time 
to go and vote. Democrat consultants will worry that the combination of 
church and voting on Sundays will hurt their party's chances at the 
poll. I hope both are right, and that the end result is more people 
affiliated with both parties coming out to vote. That should be the 
goal of a democracy.
  Mr. President, I recognize a change of this magnitude will take some 
time. But, how much more should voting turnout decline before we 
realize we need a change. How much lower should our citizens' 
confidence plummet before we adapt and create a more ``consumer-
friendly'' polling system.
  The Weekend Voting Act will not solve all of this democracy's 
problems, but it is a commonsense approach for adapting this grand 
democratic experiment of the 18th century to the American family's 
lifestyle of the 21st century.
                                 ______