The bill now goes to Gov. Nikki Haley, who has already said she plans to sign it.
John Bazemore / AP
South Carolina's House of Representatives gave final approval early Thursday to remove the Confederate flag that has flown for more than 50 years on statehouse grounds after a lengthy and contentious debate over the issue.
Gov. Nikki Haley is expected to sign the measure into law when it arrives at her desk, which will likely be later on Thursday.
The bill, which was passed on a 94 to 20 vote, would remove the Confederate flag from statehouse grounds and move it to the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum in Columbia. The flag could be taken down as early as Friday.
The debate that started on Wednesday lasted more than 13 hours. The House discussed at length an amendment to replace the Confederate flag with the state flag, which was narrowly rejected by a vote of 57-63.
Republican Rep. Jenny Horne, a descendant of Jefferson Davis, delivered a powerful speech for why the flag needed to be removed, and why the bill should be passed without any amendments, sending it straight to the governor's desk.
On Monday, the South Carolina Senate passed the bill to remove the Confederate flag after a final vote of 36-3.
Calls to remove the flag were amplified after nine people were killed on June 17 at a historic black church in Charleston. The suspect Dylann Roof had posted multiple pictures online of himself posing with the flag, as well as as online manifesto about white supremacy.
Two activists were later arrested outside the Capitol on June 27 for climbing the flag pole and removing the Confederate flag.
Haley, along with other officials, have been among those rallying for the removal of the Confederate flag, saying that while some people see the flag as part of tradition, others find the flag to be a symbol of a brutal past and that it "does not represent the future of our great state."
The governor released a statement Thursday after the final vote, saying "it is a new day in South Carolina, a day we can all be proud of, a day that truly brings us all together as we continue to heal, as one people and one state."
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