Senate Intelligence Committee members Sen. Angus King, D-Maine, center, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., left, join other senators for final votes on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – U.S. Sen. Jack Reed says he wants to make it easier for more people to vote by moving Election Day to the weekend.
The Rhode Island Democrat is introducing legislation called the Weekend Voting Act, which would move federal Election Day from the first Tuesday in November to the first full weekend.
Reed says Tuesday voting is an outdated and arcane practice established in 1845 because it was easiest for farmers who traveled by horse and buggy.
He cites research that finds the most consistent reason Americans don’t vote is that they’re too busy or couldn’t get time off.
The legislation is co-sponsored by several other Democratic senators, including Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, as well as independent Sen. Angus King of Maine.
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