Election Day

I was not aware of this till I was asked about this. Kousik, thanks for asking.

Yesterday, was election day in the US. This is the day set by law for the general elections. It occurs on the Tuesday right after the first Monday in November(this does not necessarily mean the "first Tuesday" in a month because the first day of a month can be a Tuesday).

A uniform date for choosing presidential electors was instituted by the Congress in 1845.  The bill initially set the day for choosing presidential electors on "the first Tuesday in November," in years divisible by four (1848, 1852, etc.). But it was pointed out that in some years the period between the first Tuesday in November and the first Wednesday in December (when the electors are required to meet in their state capitals to vote) would be more than 34 days, in violation of the existing Electoral College law. So, the bill was reworded to move the date for choosing presidential electors to the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The effect of the change was to make November 2 the earliest day on which Election Day may fall.

Not sure if India has a day like that. In 2009 Elections were held on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The latest general elections in April/ May 2014 were held between 7th April and 12th May 2014, which did not adhere to a certain pattern.

Not sure if US had any elections this year, yesterday.

So much for fixing a day.