Why Are Elections on Tuesday?

Mental Floss: “The glacial pace of presidential elections wasn’t a huge issue in the late 18th and early 19th centuries–communication was slow, so results took weeks to announce anyway–but with the advent of the railroad and telegraph, Congress decided it was time to standardize a date. Monday was out, because it would require people to travel to the polls by buggy on the Sunday Sabbath. Wednesday was also not an option, because it was market day, and farmers wouldn’t be able to make it to the polls. So it was decided that Tuesday would be the day that Americans would vote in elections, and in 1845, Congress passed a law that presidential elections would be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.”