Legislation that would make election day a state holiday in Virginia in place of Lee-Jackson Day is headed to the governor’s desk.
Senate Bill 601 is meant to encourage Virginians to vote by ensuring more people have off of work during November elections. It also removes state recognition of Lee-Jackson Day to maintain the same number of state holidays and as a means to stop celebrating the Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.
The bill passed the House on Monday in a 55-44 vote. Gov. Ralph Northam supports the legislation and is expected to sign it. The Senate had passed the bill in January in a 22-18 vote.
The legislation received overwhelming support from Democrats and overwhelming opposition from Republicans in both chambers.
Throughout the first two months of 2020, Northam and legislative Democrats have prioritized bills designed to scale back the celebration of Virginia’s role in the Confederacy to instead promote diversity and inclusion.
In January, the governor unveiled his justice and equity agenda, which includes grants for black cemeteries and education on racial awareness, as well as legislation that would allow local governments to remove Confederate monuments. He also is creating a commission to replace the Lee statue on the state capitol.
Virginia has about 220 Confederate monuments.
“Virginia’s history is difficult and complex, and it is important that we tell the full and true story of our past 400 years,” Northam said in January when announcing his justice and equity agenda. “When we have a complete understanding of how we got to the present, we are better prepared to improve our shared future. These proposals will help us to tell the story of people and places that for too long have been neglected or marginalized and continue to build a modern, diverse, and inclusive Commonwealth.”
A spokesman for House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, declined to comment on the legislation passing.
Last year, Northam faced backlash and allegations of racism when a photo from his yearbook page was released that showed a man in a Ku Klux Klan outfit standing next to another man wearing blackface. He initially said he was one of the men in the photograph, but later walked back that statement and said he was not either of the men in the picture.
