A Virginia lawmaker has filed a bill that would scrap the state’s Lee-Jackson holiday celebrating two Confederate generals and add one on Election Day.

Del. Joseph Lindsey proposed HB 108, which is one of hundreds of pieces of legislation lawmakers will consider when they convene next month for the start of the 2020 legislative session.

Lee-Jackson Day, established over 100 years ago, is observed annually on the Friday preceding the third Monday (which is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) in January. It honors Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, both of whom were native Virginians. The holiday was initially created to celebrate Lee's birthday, which was on January 19.

State offices in Virginia are closed for both holidays. Celebrations include a wreath-laying ceremony, a Civil War themed parade, a gala ball, and in some places, Confederate flags placed on the graves of dead soldiers.

However, Virginia cities such as Richmond, Fredericksburg, Blacksburg, Newport News, Hampton, Winchester, Fairfax and Charlottesville have decided in recent years to not officially observe the holiday.

Officials have defended the day as a celebration of history, while critics view it as a celebration of the state’s slave-holding history.

Each year, the Virginia General Assembly holds floor speeches to mark the state holiday. This year, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax stopped presiding over the state Senate as senators honored Gen. Robert E. Lee.

A similar bill to designate Election Day as a state holiday and remove Lee-Jackson Day from Virginia's state holidays was killed in a Senate committee this past year. However, at that point, Republicans controlled the Virginia Senate. After Democrats' wins in November, which gained them control of both chambers of the statehouse, the bill may face a more favorable chance in 2020.

Governor Northam's administration said at that time that they supported the bill, because making Election Day a state holiday would allow more people the chance to vote.

“There have been cases where voters had to leave polls before casting their votes, simply because they had to return to work,” Sen. Louise Lucas said. “Making Election Day a state holiday would make it easier for Virginians to vote.”

Sen. Richard Black voiced concerns about the 2019 bill removing Lee-Jackson Day, saying, “I have unease about the movement to erasing history. Maybe next time, it’ll be Martin Luther King. I would be opposed to erasing something in his honor.”

Del. Lindsey proposed a similar bill last year as well.

In 2016, Donald McEachin — then a state senator and now a member of Congress — also introduced a bill to designate Election Day as a holiday instead of Lee-Jackson Day. The Senate General Laws and Technology Committee defeated McEachin’s bill on a 7-8 vote, with seven Democrats in favor of the bill and eight Republicans opposed to it.

Six of those Republican senators, with the addition of Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico, voted against the 2019 Senate bill, while five of the same Democratic senators — once again — voted for it.

“As expected,” Lucas said earlier this year, as her bill was defeated. “But I’ll see you again next year.”

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The Associated Press contributed to this article.