Timeout for democracy

Today is Election Day, and we urge all registered voters in Durham County to make it to the polls if they have not gone already. Furthermore, we propose that, starting next year, Duke cancel all classes on Election Day with the express purpose of giving students ample time to vote.

Historically, voter turnout among Duke students has been underwhelming in off-year elections. Although this year’s numbers have yet to be released, turnout in North Carolina’s 2010 midterm was “exceptionally and alarmingly low,” said Gunther Peck, Fred W. Shaffer associate professor of history and public policy, in a Chronicle article Oct. 28, 2010. The numbers back this up. For instance, although early voting had been open since mid-October in 2010, less than 1 percent of Duke students had voted five days prior to that year’s election.

One solution to this entrenched problem is to give Duke students a day off to vote and to broadly contemplate the importance of civic engagement. If Election Day were a University holiday, students would have little excuse not to cast their ballot. Without class, students could easily find time to drive or hop on a bus to the nearby Watts Elementary School to vote. Moreover, Election Day would symbolically suggest that students are not only encouraged but expected to participate in the democratic process.

Columbia University already gives its students Election Day off and has done so every year since 1970. In fact, when the holiday was first proposed, it was intended to span 10 whole days, allowing students time to actually campaign in elections as well as vote. Today, the holiday has been shortened and combined with Columbia’s Fall break for a total of a four days off.

We propose that a modified version of Columbia’s Election Day holiday be implemented at Duke. One drawback in Columbia’s model is that merging Election Day with Fall break gives students time to leave campus, defeating the original purpose of allowing them time to vote. We suggest that Duke merely set aside a single weekday, the first Tuesday of each November. Flanked on either side by two normal class days, students would be prevented from going home on that day. This one-day holiday should also be marked by a bevy of student-led political programming and committed Duke-funded busing to the polls.

Another complaint about the Columbia policy is that students often regard Election Day as just another day available for drinking, partying and excess. Shortening the Election Day holiday to a single day would also dissuade students from abusing it. Again, when Election Day is not incorporated into a long weekend, we believe that it will more likely maintain its integrity as a day for voting and democratic participation.

At special moments, Duke students can be inspired to vote en masse. For example, in the 2008 election, there was a startling 91 percent Duke turnout. Unfortunately, these moments are few and far between. As a campus, we must strive for passionate and consistent participation in both local and national elections—not just during a particularly glamorous political season. The current political culture of Duke is not cutting it. Election Day would let us formally acknowledge our civic responsibilities.

The editorial board did not reach quorum for this editorial.