BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has made Election Day a city holiday.
Woodfin made the announcement via a series of Tweets on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
"It’s always been my belief that a goal of every elected official should be to make voting easier, not harder. That's why I'm officially making Election Day a city holiday in Birmingham. #VOTE"
"Over the past few years, we have seen different tactics used to attempt to erode and make more difficult our ability to vote in this country. To me, that’s just plain unacceptable."
"Making Election Day a day that is free from work should help those who are normally unable to take time off to go vote, particularly employees who work long shifts, have more than one job, and often must balance all of that with childcare."
"A US Census Bureau survey found that about 14% of respondents, about 2.7 million people, said the main reason they did not vote was because they were too busy to do so."
"So that’s it. We’re making Election Day a city holiday and instead of a day worrying about trying to carve out time to go vote, we’re turning Election Day into a celebration of our democracy."
"And if for some reason you still aren’t able to make it out to vote on Election Day, you can vote right now at your county courthouse by in-person absentee ballot."
"This year more than ever, we need to be breaking down the barriers that prevent our residents from having their voices heard. #VOTE"