Talk:All Saints' Day

U.S. election day

I have wondered (and do not know the answer to the question) why the presidential election day in the U.S. was set as "the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November" -- i.e., the election cannot occur on a Tuesday that is Nov. 1. I've always assumed that this was because at least in some states with established churches (which was not unconstitutional at the time), that would have been too big a holiday to coincide with an election and would have depressed turnout either at the polls or at the church. (Or, more likely, would have resulted in voters showing up at church after having been bribed with rotgut whiskey by candidates at the polls.) Does anybody know? Bruce M. Tindall 23:43, 1 November 2010 (UTC)