President Obama,

I urge you to use your authority to make the November 8th, 2016, Election Day a one-time federal holiday.

As you know, our democracy is in crisis. Fewer than 40% of Americans voted in our last midterm election, and our overall turnout rarely breaks 60%. That puts us at 120th out of 169 countries for average voter turnout. This is unacceptable for a country founded on the bold idea of a democracy for and by the people.

Instead of taking actions to make voting more accessible, some in positions of power are implementing more and more voter suppression tactics, most of which resulted from the Supreme Court’s gutting of the historic Voting Rights Act. Since this decision, nearly every state has introduced bills to make voting harder, and many states have done just that through discriminatory voter photo ID bills or drastic cuts to early voting days, same day registration, and other suppressive measures.

This is all on top of our problematic voting infrastructure that leaves poor communities and communities of color stuck in prohibitively long lines at polls during every national election.

I am not willing to stand by and let this be the America I live in.

That is why I am calling on you to restore democracy and make the 2016 Election Day a one-time federal holiday – and thereby give all states and businesses permission to follow your lead.

This will be a concrete step toward increasing access to voting by giving busy families more time to vote while decreasing lines at the peak times before and after work. And this executive action will help shine a well-needed spotlight on poor turnout and voting access in this country. It would be a step in the right direction toward making the polling place more – not less – accessible.

I urge you to lead on this issue and help us take this important step toward reclaiming the democracy we deserve.

Prioritize democracy above all else for just one day.

Thank you,

Brave New Films

Common Cause

Courage Campaign

Daily Kos

Left Action

People Demanding Action

People For the American Way

Presente.org

RootsAction.org

The Nation

Watchdog.net

Why Tuesday?

