The Green Party of Virginia wishes to thank our members and allies across the state for voting Green for Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker during the 2020 election. Every vote for the Green Party sent the message to the two-party establishment that we refuse to give away our power to a system that does not represent our values. As Hawkins said, we refused to get "lost in the sauce."

On September 30th Virginia Governor Ralph Northam's Office released a "Governors Joint Statement" signed by Northam and 10 other Democratic governors, purporting to affirm that they "do not take for granted the sacred right of every American to cast a vote, and to have that vote counted.” (1) They further affirmed that they had a "solemn duty" to ensure the integrity of our democratic processes. But in reality, there is a significant disconnect between these governors' fine words and the actions of the Democratic Party in this election.

As we celebrate Labor Day and the past successes of the labor movement, we continue to mobilize for just working conditions, pay, and benefits for the working class. Workers have united to bring about revolutionary changes in past struggles, however, the modern-day labor movement has been increasingly derailed by the corporate Democratic and Republican Parties.

The Green Party of Virginia (GPVA) declared its support for the Bernie Sanders delegates to the Democratic National Convention who voted today in opposition to the party's rejection of Medicare for All. The Green Party has supported universal, single-payer healthcare for decades, and its nominee, Howie Hawkins, remains the only presidential candidate running on a platform that includes a community-centered single-payer Medicare For All system.

This Juneteenth as we celebrate the day the last slaves were freed in America, we must also be cognizant of the continuing legacies of slavery rooted in the triple evils of racism, economic exploitation and militarism that have been ongoing for centuries. The last five decades of Democratic and Republican Party rule have culminated in a system of modern-day slavery founded on racially discriminatory laws. Jim Crow, segregation, redlining, the War on Drugs, for-profit prisons and mass incarceration serve to further empower and enrich the ruling class.