One result of the primary system has been, therefore, to complicate our electoral machinery. If the practice of holding informal conventions becomes general, there will be four steps which a party will have to take in order to put its candidates in office, first the informal convention, then the primary, then the official convention which drafts the platform, and finally the election. Surely it should be possible to elect our public officials under some less complicated arrangement than this.[42] ELECTIONS [Sidenote: The election day.] =How an Election is Held.=—The date on which an election is held is fixed by law. National elections always take place on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November.[43] State elections are usually, although not always, held on the same date. Local elections take place on such dates as the state laws or city charters provide. It is usually thought best that local elections shall not be held on the same day as the state or national elections because of a desire to keep national and state politics out of local affairs. When national, state, and local elections are held on the same day the tendency is for the voters to focus their whole attention on national and state issues, giving very little attention to the problems of their own communities. The names of candidates for the local offices are away down near the bottom of the ballot where they appear relatively unimportant. Separate elections involve additional expense, however, and increase the number of times a voter has to come to the polls.[44] [Sidenote: Polling places and poll officers.]