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Open Change the day elections are held to Saturday

Created by Richard Thomson
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We call on the UK Government to hold all major elections on Saturday instead of Thursday, to improve accessibility, participation, and democratic engagement. The UK is one of the few major democracies that still holds elections on a weekday. Thursday voting can create barriers for working people.

At a time of growing political disengagement, we feel the UK should modernise its electoral system to reflect modern working and family life. We believe that democracy works best when voting is easy, accessible, and convenient. We therefore call on the Government to move general elections, local elections, and referendums to be held on Saturdays.

Many countries that hold elections at weekends achieve consistently higher voter turnout than the UK. For example, Australia regularly exceeds 90% turnout and Sweden often achieve 75–85%.

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  • Petition published

    This petition can now be signed.

    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 9 December 2026.