Groundbeat voters spent the week turning things down: AI itineraries, data centers, streaming bills, and the news. A rare display of consensus, for a polling site.
❓ The open question: Time off to vote
Election Day falls on a Tuesday because of an 1845 law written for a country of farmers, who needed a day to get to the county seat and back without missing church or market day. That's the usual story, anyway (Axios on the history). It's still a workday for most of us, and November 3 is ten days out.
This week's question asks who should cover the time: should employers be required to give workers paid time off to vote on Election Day?
The cases
Scaramouche would draw the line by size: "Depends on the employer; I can sympathize with strapped small businesses, but big ones are another matter entirely. Let the former apply for exemptions if it's so rough."
On the point that anyone who can't get away can vote by mail, Scaramouche doesn't budge: "the argument you're making is one that's been made against every concession from management to labor ever."
Iseefire, on a companion poll about making Election Day a national holiday, goes a step further: "Federal holiday. Will help the people who do close. And people would get holiday pay if they don't/can't close." (Poll 2383)
JE_Thomas, same poll, kept it short: "Anything that makes it easier to vote!"
What the desk adds
There's no federal requirement. Roughly two dozen states require paid time off to vote, a few more require unpaid time, and the rest leave it to employers (a state-by-state rundown). The rules vary a lot, e.g., how many hours, how much notice, and whether the polls are open long enough outside your shift.
Does the time actually keep people home? In the 2022 midterms, the most common reason registered nonvoters gave the Census Bureau was "too busy, conflicting work or school schedule" (26.5%), well ahead of "not interested" (17.6%) (the Census Bureau).
Next week's open question
Should U.S. Supreme Court justices have term limits? So far the thread turns on whether it would take a constitutional amendment, and on how much of this is Alexander Hamilton's fault.
Keep the AI out of the itinerary
81% said they would not let an AI plan their entire vacation, with another 11% willing only if they get final approval. Just 7% were game. See the live results →
54 votes · 8 from members
Not in my community
82% of voters would not support a new data center nearby, and 12% said it depends. Nobody picked neutral. See the live results →
33 votes · 8 from members
Streaming's climbing prices
74% said streaming services are no longer worth the money, against 11% who still think they are and 15% unsure. See the live results →
27 votes · 5 from members
Low trust in political coverage
75% said they don't really trust U.S. news outlets to cover politics fairly, while 20% said it depends on the outlet. One voter picked 'yes, generally.' See the live results →
20 votes · 8 from members
💬 From the discussions
On whether to sit through a movie's end credits.
“The only time I stayed with no post credits scene was when I was with a bunch of cinematography majors. The movie theater staff were pissed.” — Iseefire
“I'll admit I now check in advance whether there'll be post-credit scenes. If yes, stay, if not, I leave it up to the people I'm watching with.” — dagman
🗣 The Minority Report
“Term-limits and regular, involuntary rotation (i.e. each POTUS gets to appoint a set number of judges, each time a new one is appointed the seniormost gets knocked off whether it wants to retire or not) is what the SCOTUS needs, not this.”
— Scaramouche, making the case for the trailing side. A trailing 'unsure' vote that turns out to be a fully worked-out third option. Join that thread →
🗳 Still open
Have a different take? The polls are open — weigh in.
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