Rainn Wilson's pitch to make Voting Day a national holiday
Can The Office's Dwight Schrute convince America that Election Day should become a federal holiday... or happen on the weekend?

On NBC's The Office, Dwight Schrute "doesn't celebrate any major holidays," says Maane Khatchatourian at Entertainment Weekly. But the actor who plays him, Rainn Wilson, wants to create a new one: Voting Day. In collaboration with social media sites GOOD and SoulPancake, Wilson sells his proposal in a funny video (watch below) about a 19th century sharecropper showing up to vote in present-day California — the idea being that holding elections on a work day is an idea whose time has long passed.
Wilson's pitch is funny, but he's "not joking," says Jacob Soboroff at the predictably sympathetic site Why Tuesday? "There is absolutely no good reason whatsoever to vote on Tuesday," and that "incredibly stupid" tradition probably does a lot to explain why "voter turnout is horrendous" in the U.S.
I can get past the dumb-but-safely-implausible idea of taking the day off to vote, says William Bigelow at Breitbart's Big Hollywood. But "it's offensive to have airheads" like Wilson and his friends at SoulPancake "pontificate about how requiring proper identification for voting is too difficult for real Americans." Because that's the subtext of this video: A stealth attack on voter ID laws.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The idea that voters shouldn't have to work on Election Day isn't a new one," nor a particularly unreasonable one, says David A. Graham at The Atlantic. Voting on Tuesdays really does seem archaic, and it's "especially difficult for people who work hourly jobs with low pay in urban centers, because lines are often long and they can't afford to take time off the job." Making Election Day a holiday isn't the only solution — we could vote on the weekend, or have elections a week later, on Veterans Day. Having The Office's Schrute push for businesses to close seems like a good start, though it's worth noting that "the list of participants is, let's say, brief at the moment."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
How to create a healthy 'germier' home
Under The Radar Exposure to a broad range of microbes can enhance our immune system, especially during childhood
-
George Floyd: Did Black Lives Matter fail?
Feature The momentum for change fades as the Black Lives Matter Plaza is scrubbed clean
-
National debt: Why Congress no longer cares
Feature Rising interest rates, tariffs and Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill could sent the national debt soaring
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are the billionaires backing?
The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy