Ohio City Will No Longer Observe Columbus Day, Will Make Election Day A Holiday Instead

Officials in the city of Sandusky, Ohio, have decided that the city will no longer observe Columbus Day as a holiday and will instead give municipal workers the day off on Election Day instead, according to the Sandusky Register.

During a recent public meeting, city commissioners authorized the change which will take effect this year.

The new rule will give workers in all municipal offices the day off on Election Day, typically the first Tuesday in November.

“What better way to celebrate the value of our employees and citizens than by removing barriers for them to participate in the greatest of American innovations, our democracy,” the city government wrote on Facebook.

City Manager Eric Wobser told the newspaper that the holiday swap was meant to encourage city employees to participate in the vote, as well as in response to the controversies surrounding Columbus Day.

A number of cities have recently decided to stop observing Columbus Day or begun marking “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” instead, citing Christopher Columbus and other European explorers’ treatment of Native Americans.

Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) proposed ditching Columbus Day as a holiday and replacing it with Election Day back in November.

A recent survey by Hill.TV and HarrisX polling company found that a majority of respondents favor making Election Day a federal holiday.