Student Union recently filed a petition calling for Washington University to make election day a campus-wide holiday and cancel class, to allow students more time to vote. In previous elections, lines at polling places during the day have been extremely long, requiring students to choose between voting and attending their classes. We as the Editorial Board support this petition and advocate that Wash. U. make every election day a holiday and cancel class across all schools.

Voting is the most fundamental right guaranteed to every U.S. citizen. It is crucial to allow people free and fair access to exercise this right. Wash. U. should dedicate itself to making voting for its students as easy and convenient as possible. It is in the best interest of the University to have a politically informed and engaged student body. Having a large turnout among students would represent clear fulfillment of this purpose.

While major national elections for congressional seats and presidents may receive large turnout, smaller local elections don’t garner as much enthusiasm to go to the polls. These local elections are vital to state politics and should receive equal attention from students. While most students may be aware of a presidential or midterm election and decide to vote, they may not have the same knowledge of local elections when they occur. Having a day off from class during an election would encourage students to do some research on candidates and issues and vote when they may not have otherwise due to time constraints.

During the last election cycle, which included the 2018 Congressional midterm elections, there were roughly four-hour lines outside of the Athletic Complex to vote. Most college students do not have a four-hour block during voting hours of 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. to go and wait in line in the cold. Students have classes, extracurriculars, meetings, work and other obligations that take up much of their weekdays. Taking away class time would alleviate this at least partially by freeing up a major time block to go and wait at the polls.

Giving students better access to vote would also help to instill the importance of voting in younger generations. For most freshmen, the upcoming election will be the first they are legally allowed to participate in. Giving them a better opportunity to start voting in college would encourage them to get involved from an early age and remain engaged in the future.

Historically, young voters are an underrepresented group in elections. In the 2018 midterms, only 36% of those age 18 to 29 voted, compared to 66% for those over the age of 66. Moreover, most students at Wash. U. are not exposed to an extended civics course during their undergraduate education. On a national level, 81% of U.S. citizens under the age of 45 would be able to pass a basic U.S. history and civics test. Giving young voters the time to actually do research and go to the polls would help to increase turnout numbers for students.

Having class on election days also unfairly impacts students who work alongside their studies. Students who are employed are not able to call off from their work to vote, restricting their opportunities to vote even further. This is particularly problematic for students of low socioeconomic status that have to work to pay for their education. Without skipping out on class time, their access to voting is severely limited.

Likewise, for most students, classes are not their only obligation. Most students’ daily schedules are riddled with meetings, clubs, interviews and time to study. None of these other aspects are within the capacity of the University to regulate, making them hard for students to work around. Given that all students have widely varying schedules, blocking out class time would be the easiest way to guarantee that all students have an opportunity to vote.

According to the Pew Research Center, the United States is only one of nine countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that votes on a weekday and one of seven that does not have Election Day as a national holiday. While the federal government has not made the move to make voting easier and more convenient, the Wash. U. administration should take it upon themselves to do so for its students. Voting is fundamental for our democracy, and if the University wants to produce not only well educated, but also well informed and engaged students, it should take this step to give students more time to exercise their right to vote.