SANDUSKY, Ohio (WSVN) — An Ohio city has made headlines after they made Election Day a paid holiday.
According to CNN, the Ohio city of Sandusky officially swapped out Columbus Day with Election Day as a paid holiday.
The move comes as the the federal government looks at Democratic legislation at the federal level with the similar purpose of turning Election Day into a paid federal holiday.
“We were acting locally for local reasons but certainly we were inspired by the conversations happening at a statewide or national basis and those two things really synced up well together,” said Sandusky City Manager Eric Wobster.
Wobster said local officials considered dropping Columbus Day years ago, but was met with resistance from unions reluctant to give up a holiday. However, in 2018, officials proposed swapping out Columbus Day for Election day and received support from unions. The measure was then approved by the city commission.
The rule, which goes into effect this year, applies to about 250 city workers.
“It fit into something we’ve been working on pretty actively over the last couple of years — to eliminate barriers and expand access to voting for our residents,” he said, adding that the city runs Erie County’s transport system and started offering free rides to the polls on Election Day.
According to the Washington Post, Wobster said officials are hoping to get local private companies to observe the holiday as well.
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