# Election day

Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections are always held on a weekday. However, some countries, or regions within a country, which hold elections on a weekday declare election day a public holiday. Countries which permit absentee ballots, early ballots or postal votes to be cast by mail before the election avoid the problem altogether by enabling voters to vote on a day that is more convenient to them.
Sundays are the most common day for elections, but this is less true in the Anglosphere; Saturdays are used in New Zealand and Australia, and weekdays for the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. This is partially due to the influence of Protestantism, which historically set restrictions on activities other than church-going during the Sabbath (usually considered as falling on a Sunday).
An election day usually culminates in an election night when the results of the election are tallied and winners are announced.

## Election day by country/territory

| Country/Territory | Region | Election day | political system |
| Albania | Europe | Sunday. | Parliamentary republic |
| Argentina | South America | Fourth Sunday of October immediately before the end of the current mandates. | federal presidential republic |
| Austria | Europe | Sunday. Nationalrat elections may be held on another public holiday. | Parliamentary republic |
| Australia | Oceania | Saturday for federal, state and most local elections. Postal and early voting permitted. Some local elections are by postal voting only. | Parliamentary monarchy |
| Belgium | Europe | Sunday (until 1894, Tuesday). | Parliamentary monarchy |
| Bolivia | South America | Sunday. | Presidential republic |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Europe | Sunday. | Parliamentary republic |
| Brazil | South America | First Sunday of October. Runoffs take place on the last Sunday of the same October. | Federal presidential republic |
| Bulgaria | Europe | Sunday. | Parliamentary republic |
| Canada | North America | Third Monday of October every four years, or after Parliament is dissolved by the Governor General. | Parliamentary monarchy |
| Chile | South America | Sunday. | Presidential republic |
| Colombia | South America | Sunday: the second Sunday of March for Congress, and the second Sunday of May for President and Vice President. | Presidential republic |
| Czech Republic | Europe | Traditionally elections are held over two days, starting on a Friday afternoon and ending the following Saturday afternoon. | Parliamentary republic |
| Cyprus | Europe | Saturday. | Parliamentary republic |
| Costa Rica | North America | Sunday: first Sunday of February for the President, Vice-President, and Legislative Assembly; second Sunday of February for municipal elections. | Presidential republic |
| Croatia | Europe | Sunday. | Parliamentary republic |
| Denmark | Europe | Elections for the Folketing usually occur on Tuesday, but this is not a statutory requirement. | Parliamentary monarchy |
| Ecuador | South America | Sunday. | Presidential republic |
| El Salvador | North America | Sunday. | Presidential republic |
| Estonia | Europe | Elections for the Riigikogu, which chooses both the president and prime minister, are on the first Sunday of March. | Parliamentary republic |
| Finland | Europe | Sunday. | Parliamentary republic |
| France | Europe | Sunday. | Semi-presidential republic |
| Germany | Europe | Sunday. Elections to the Bundestag may be held on another public holiday. | Federal parliamentary republic |
| Greece | Europe | Sunday. | Parliamentary republic |
| Hong Kong | Asia | Sunday. | |
| Hungary | Europe | Sunday. | Parliamentary republic |
| Iceland | Europe | Saturday. | Parliamentary republic |
| India | Asia | Elections are held over multiple days. The 2019 Indian general election, which began on a Thursday, took place over seven phases with six days between each phase. Constituencies vote only on the day of their respective phase. | Federal parliamentary republic |
| Indonesia | Asia | Election dates are determined by the General Elections Commission (Indonesian: Komisi Pemilihan Umum, KPU), but must occur "on a holiday or a day determined as a national holiday" per the Indonesian electoral law of 2017. | Presidential republic |
| Iran | Asia | Friday for presidential elections. | |
| Ireland | Europe | Typically on a Friday, but precise date set by Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government. | Parliamentary republic |
| Israel | Asia | By law on the third Tuesday of Cheshvan, but normally held on a different day. Election day is a holiday in Israel, so people do not have to work. | Parliamentary republic |
| Italy | Europe | Municipal, provincial, and regional elections take place on a Sunday, as do elections for the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and EU Parliament elections. Occasionally Mondays are added as voting day. | Parliamentary republic |
| Japan | Asia | Sunday. | Parliamentary monarchy |
| Latvia | Europe | Saturday. | Parliamentary republic |
| Lebanon | Asia | Until 2009, elections were held over several consecutive Sundays. The most recent election, the 2018 Lebanese general election, was also held on a Sunday. | Parliamentary republic |
| Lithuania | Europe | Elections for the Seimas are on the second Sunday of October, and for the president the last Sunday two months before the end of the current president's term. | Parliamentary republic |
| Luxembourg | Europe | Sunday. | Parliamentary monarchy |
| Macau | Asia | Sunday. | |
| Macedonia | Europe | Sunday, but the 2020 North Macedonian parliamentary election departed from this standard. It was held over three weekdays after being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | Parliamentary republic |
| Malta | Europe | Saturday. | Parliamentary republic |
| Malaysia | Asia | Saturday | Parliamentary monarchy |
| Mexico | North America | First Sunday of July until 2018. From 2021, the first Sunday of June. | Federal presidential republic |
| Montenegro | Europe | Sunday for Parliamentary elections. | Parliamentary republic |
| Netherlands | Europe | Typically on a Wednesday. For elections to the European Parliament, Thursday. | Parliamentary monarchy |
| New Zealand | Oceania | Saturday. | Parliamentary monarchy |
| Nicaragua | North America | Sunday. | Presidential republic |
| Norway | Europe | Monday in early September. Exact date set by the King of Norway. | Parliamentary monarchy |
| Panama | North America | Sunday. | Presidential republic |
| Paraguay | South America | Sunday. | Presidential republic |
| Peru | South America | Sunday. | Presidential republic |
| Philippines | Asia | Second Monday in May. | Presidential republic |
| Poland | Europe | Sunday. | Semi-presidential republic |
| Portugal | Europe | Sunday. | Parliamentary republic |
| Puerto Rico | North America | Day after the first Monday in November. | |
| Romania | Europe | Sunday. | Parliamentary republic |
| Russia | Europe | Sunday. | Presidential republic |
| Serbia | Europe | Sunday. | Semi-presidential republic |
| Singapore | Asia | Friday (except for by-elections which is in Saturday). By law, polling day is a public holiday if it falls on a weekday. | Parliamentary republic |
| Slovakia | Europe | Saturday. | Parliamentary republic |
| Slovenia | Europe | Sunday. | Parliamentary republic |
| South Korea | Asia | Usually Wednesday. Election day is a national holiday. | Presidential republic |
| Spain | Europe | There is no fixed election day for general elections, although since 1986 every general election has been held on Sunday. Municipal and provincial elections take place on the fourth Sunday of May. | Parliamentary monarchy |
| Sweden | Europe | Second Sunday of September. | Parliamentary monarchy |
| Switzerland | Europe | Saturday and Sunday. | Federal parliamentary republic |
| Taiwan | Asia | Saturday. | Semi-presidential republic |
| Thailand | Asia | Sunday. | Parliamentary monarchy |
| Turkey | Europe | Sunday. | Presidential republic |
| Ukraine | Europe | Sunday. | Semi-presidential republic |
| United Kingdom | Europe | Thursday. See also: Election Day (United Kingdom) | Parliamentary monarchy |
| United States | North America | All federal elections take place the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. See also: Election Day (United States) | Federal presidential republic |
| Uruguay | South America | Sunday. | Presidential republic |
| Venezuela | South America | Sunday. | Presidential republic |
| Vietnam | Asia | Sunday. | |

## Other bodies

Elections to the European Parliament take place over a period of four days (i.e., Thursday through to Sunday), according to the election days of the EU members states (as listed above). There are some exceptions; as Wednesday was not covered by the available dates, the Netherlands holds elections on Thursday, while Denmark holds elections on Sunday. Countries that hold the ballot before Sunday are not permitted to announce results until all other countries have finished voting.