Why are San Francisco Supes Meeting on Election Day?

by Paul Hogarth, 2006-11-06

Tomorrow is Election Day – when many critical decisions affecting us over the next two years will be made. Polls open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m., but it’s advisable that you vote earlier in the day to avoid long lines. But many people will have to wait after 5:00 p.m. because they have jobs. With all the national, state and city holidays that we have during the year, it’s incredible that Election Day is not a holiday. What’s even more absurd is that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has a meeting tomorrow with a Full Agenda. It’s hard to send the message home that Election Day is important when people are treating it like just another Tuesday. It’s also demeaning to democracy when you make it hard for people to take enough time off to vote.

As a former elected official, I was shocked to hear that the Board of Supervisors was meeting tomorrow. When I was a Commissioner on the Berkeley Rent Board, we routinely canceled our Monday night meetings when they were on the eve of an election. The reason was obvious – all of us were planning to put up door-hangers the next day at 4:00 a.m. to remind people to vote. We weren’t a bunch of politicians delaying “the people’s business” to satisfy our own partisan agendas. We passionately cared about making sure people vote, believed that good old grass-roots organizing was the way to expand the franchise, and let’s be honest – what was on one meeting’s agenda could wait another two weeks. It wasn’t going to be the end of the world.

Incredibly, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has had a Full Meeting on every Election Day for the past three years except one. All of the meetings had perfect attendance – except for the December 9, 2003 meeting, where then-Supervisor Gavin Newsom was “excused.” Ironically, Newsom was elected Mayor on that day when he defeated his colleague, Matt Gonzalez, who was chairing the Board meeting. This year, four Supervisors are up for re-election. Now that we have district elections, shouldn’t they be in their districts talking to constituents? Is it fair that they have to work on that day while their challengers are out campaigning?

While it’s hard to sympathize with politicians, what about concerned citizens who have important business in front of the Board? At tomorrow’s meeting, Supervisors will vote on a $10 million appropriation to the Department of Human Services, settling four different lawsuits with the City, Fiona Ma’s massage parlor legislation, and Aaron Peskin’s legislation to protect the tenants of 1030 Post Street. Is it fair to make San Franciscans who care deeply about these agenda items choose between having time to vote or attending a Board meeting? Doesn’t it open up the possibility of corruption (the Board can ram down controversial items because voters aren’t paying attention)?

Being a good citizen in a democracy involves far more than just voting. It’s your civic duty to be out on Election Day urging others to vote as well. Grass-roots campaigns rely on volunteers who are willing to take time out of their busy schedules to make a get-out-the-vote effort a reality. Groups like Moveon.org have urged their members to take Election Day off from work so that they can get others out to vote. Personally, I will be taking a vacation day tomorrow to do campaign work. If Election Day were a holiday, more people could have that option. Campaigns could run more extensive neighbor-to-neighbor field operations, rather than rely on slick mailers and attack ads by heavily paid consultants.

Having to work on Election Day makes it difficult – or even impossible – for many people who might be less motivated to vote. Muni bus drivers, for example, might have to be at work early before the polls open – or may have a shift that extends late at night after the polls close. While California and 29 other states require employers to give their employees time off to vote on Election Day, few employees even know about that right.

There’s also a practical issue – because you’re registered to vote at your home address, what if your job takes you miles away? Will you even have time to get to your polling place after a long working day, an arduous commute, a house full of screaming kids, and dinner that needs to be cooked? In 2000, over 20 percent of eligible non-voters -- and even higher proportions of Asians and Latinos -- did not vote due to scheduling conflicts or inconvenient voting procedures, according to the US Census.

I’ve always wondered why Election Day is always in the middle of the workweek -- on a Tuesday. The U.S. Congress first passed it in 1845, and the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November was chosen to keep Election Day from falling on November 1st or All Saints’ Day for Roman Catholics. Tuesday was chosen to allow voters one day to travel to their polling place, as most residents at the time could not travel on Sunday because of church. The month of November was chosen because it was after the crops were harvested. Probably because of habit, it’s almost never been changed – whereas other industrialized countries routinely vote on weekends or holidays.

Many have argued that if Election Day were on a weekend or declared a holiday, disinterested workers would simply take the day off and go to the beach. While that may be so, it would at least make it easier for people who want to vote but couldn’t just make it. It would also send a message that voting is not an everyday activity. The last time I can remember Election Day being a holiday was in 1988 – I was in Fifth Grade, and the Chicago Public Schools were closed. My teachers could go vote, and parents who normally had to drive their kids to school in the morning before going to work had more time to vote. You’ll always have people who don’t care – but can’t you say the same thing about the Fourth of July? Veterans Day? Memorial Day?

In Puerto Rico, Election Day is a holiday in presidential years. Many Puerto Ricans celebrate and make Election Day a fun and festive party with a purpose. In the 2000 election, Puerto Rico had an 82% voter turnout – compared with the national average of 51%. And here’s the irony – Puerto Ricans can’t even vote in the Presidential election. They can only send non-voting delegates to Congress.

Politicians, the media and campaign activists always urge people to vote – telling them how “critical” the upcoming election will be. But if even the San Francisco Board of Supervisors can’t suspend ordinary business and postpone their one weekly meeting, how can eligible voters ever take it seriously?

For feedback, contact paul@thclinic.org