Democrats in Virginia's House voted Thursday to remove Lee-Jackson Day, honoring the Confederate leaders, and add Election Day as a holiday.
Virginia lawmakers are poised to end a state holiday honoring Confederate military leaders and establish Election Day as a holiday instead.
Instead, the Tuesday following the first Monday in November, Election Day, will become a holiday"for the right of citizens of a free society to exercise the right to vote," the House legislation says. Election Day was a holiday in Virginia until 1989, when the General Assembly removed it. "We are making it easier for Virginians to exercise their fundamental right to vote, and building a more representative and inclusive Commonwealth as a result," Northam, a Democrat, tweeted Friday.
"We can promote everyone. We can promote diversity," Republican Sen. Mark Peake said when the Senate bill passed, the Virginia Mercury reported."We can add things without taking away or tearing down other things."
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