November 8 is Election Day, and while most stores and government offices will be open, some will be closed.
Retailers, restaurants and schools will be open. The U.S. Postal Service will be delivering mail, and the New York Stock Exchange and other markets will be trading on Election Day. Banks will also be open.
What’s closed?
Nineteen states and Puerto Rico have declared Election Day a civic holiday — Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
That means that in those states, government offices, with the exception of election offices, will be closed on Tuesday and non-essential state workers will have the day off.
In 2019, House Democrats proposed a plan to make Election Day a federal holiday, but the legislation was not passed.
Two-thirds of Americans support the creation of a federal holiday for voting, according to the American Bar Association’s annual Survey of Civic Literacy. The survey also found strong support for other measures to make voting easier.