On November 4, 1845, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, America held its first election day. It wasn’t the first time Americans had voted to elect their representatives in government - that had been happening since 1788 - but it was the first time they all went to the polls on the same day. Since 1792, Congress mandated only that elections happen within the 34 days leading up to the state-by-state meetings of the electoral college that happened on the first Wednesday in December, and each state was empowered to choose an election date on its own. But with improving communications and transportation, the need arose to hold national elections on the same day across the country.
It was no easy task to find a day that would accommodate the needs of most Americans. The idea was to find a date that would enable the most citizens to reach a polling place and cast their ballots without disturbing their working lives too much. It was practical for Congress to select a day of the week rather than a fixed date, as a fixed date would vary in which day of the week it fell on - Americans, especially at this time, wouldn’t be able to vote on a Sunday as it was still widely observed as the sabbath day of rest. Tuesday became the agreed-upon best choice. It allowed for those who needed a day’s travel to the polling place to travel Monday (not on the sabbath), vote Tuesday morning and then travel back home before the market day on Wednesday. The focus was on ensuring America’s large rural population could reach the polls - urban dwellers would have no trouble ducking out from work to cast their votes.
But why did Congress spell out that Election Day would not just fall on a Tuesday, but the Tuesday after the first Monday in November? It all relates back to the legacy law that Congress had passed in 1792. Elections must happen at most 34 days prior to the meetings of the electoral colleges, which was mandated to happen on the first Wednesday in December. If Congress had chosen the first Tuesday in November, there were certain permutations where Election Day would fall more than 34 days before that crucial electoral college date, thereby invalidating the election in the eyes of the law. By adding that a Monday had to pass before Election Day could occur in November, Congress avoided that scenario altogether.
This new act was voted into law in January of 1845, and the first Election Day was officially November 4, 1845. While it was technically the first election day, there were no federal elections that year, and so it only stands as a ceremonial milestone in U.S. election history. The first election to use the newly established election day was that of 1848, when America voted Zachary Taylor, the Whig candidate, to be President.