National Journal: What’s So Special About Tuesday?

The National Journal has posted an article about WhyTuesday?:

any election watchers know that national elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, but why that day in particular?

A nonprofit election reform group called Why Tuesday has been asking just that question of presidential candidates through a series of Web videos released every Tuesday on their Web site. By simply asking the question of why Election Day is when it is, the group is getting people to talk about different possibilities, such as Election Day being a national holiday or general elections being held on a weekend.
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An integral part of the group’s strategy for this election has been engaging candidates about election reform through their “candidate challenge.” Executive Director Jacob Soboroff has been traveling to Iowa and beyond to ask candidates about their plans for reform, and has found that most are interested in the issue, although many don’t know — along with most of America — that the reason we vote midweek in November is because of the 19th-century agrarian calendar, which begs the question of whether it’s time to update our election timetable.