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State-Level Equal Rights Amendments
A majority of state constitutions have gender equality provisions.
Last Updated: December 6, 2022
Published: August 26, 2022
In the United States, the fight for a federal Equal Rights Amendment has been a century in the making.
Meanwhile, state-level equivalents abound. Some are comprehensive provisions of state constitutions that guarantee equal rights regardless of an individual’s gender, and others are provisions that prohibit gender-based discrimination in specific circumstances.
State courts and constitutions are becoming increasingly important in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization as well as federal courts’ growing hostility to many forms of civil rights protection. In the coming months and years, litigants may increasingly turn to state-level Equal Rights Amendments.
What follows is a summary of the constitutional protections afforded in the 50 states. It is not intended to be exhaustive and may change and evolve in real time.
Summary of State-Level ERA Provisions
Key:
States with ERAs
States with limited gender equality provisions
States with active state ERA ratification efforts
States with no ERA
States:
Alabama
Key:
States with ERAs
Alaska
- “State of Alaska Official Returns by Election Precinct,”State of Alaska, 1972, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gSHjMDfASkp-YXjpR0VuuHzUr-QHF4vI/view.
Key:
States with limited gender equality provisions
Arizona
- “2010 General Election,” Arizona Secretary of Statehttps://apps.azsos.gov/election/2010/General/ElectionInformation.htm.
Arkansas
Key:
States with ERAs
California
- “Declaration of Rights,” UC Hastings Scholarship Repository, accessed June 22, 2022, https://repository.uchastings.edu/ca_ballot_props/790/.
- "For State Assembly — Here's the Record," The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA), November 4, 1974, https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19741104&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1.
- "California State Constitutions," California State Archives, accessed June 15, 2022, https://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/collections/constitutions.
- Robert Pear, “In California, Foes of Affirmative Action See a New Day,” The New York Times, November 7, 1996, https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/07/us/in-california-foes-of-affirmative-action-see-a-new-day.html.
Key:
States with ERAs
Colorado
- Colorado Legislative Council, An Analysis of 1972 Ballot Proposals, Research Publication 185 (1972).
Key:
States with ERAs
Connecticut
- “Statement of Vote, General Election, November 5, 1974,” State of Connecticut Public Document No. 26, 1974, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t36GMz8WUCryWTHR6JGk9qHNhgumX5z3/view.
Key:
States with ERAs
Delaware
- B. 1, 150th G.A. (Del. 2019), https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail/27046.
District of Columbia
Key:
States with ERAs
Florida
“November 3,1998 General Election,” Florida Department of State, accessed August 8, 2022, Georgia
Georgia
Key:
States with ERAs
Hawaii
- “Referenda and Primary Election Materials, Part 50: Referenda Elections for Hawaii,” Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, 2002, http://hawaii.concon.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ICPSR-ReferendaElectionsForHawaii-1968-1990-DS50-Codebook.pdf.
Idaho
Key:
States with ERAs
Illinois
- Frank Kopecky and Mary Sherman Harris, Understanding the Illinois Constitution, Illinois Bar Foundation, 2001.
Indiana
Key:
States with ERAs
Iowa
- “Iowa General Election - November 3, 1998,” Iowa Secretary of State, 1998, https://www.google.com/url?q=https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/10-8.pdf&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1659047844013440&usg=AOvVaw0zQ2X_NSrAJ4x8U6FrfqCO.
Kansas
Kentucky
Key:
States with limited gender equality provisions
Louisiana
- “Louisiana’s Constitutions: 1974,” Law Library of Louisianahttps://lasc.libguides.com/c.php?g=967774&p=6994446.
Key:
States with active state ERA ratification efforts
Maine
- Equal Rights Maine, https://www.equalrightsmaine.org/.
- Resolution, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine To Explicitly Prohibit Discrimination Based on the Sex of an Individual, LD 433 (2019) https://legislature.maine.gov/LawMakerWeb/summary.asp?ID=280071244.
Key:
States with ERAs
Maryland
- “Maryland Constitution,” State of Maryland,https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/43const/html/00dec.html.
Key:
States with ERAs
Massachusetts
- “Elections: Statewide Ballot Questions,” Massachusetts Secretary of State, https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elebalm/balmresults.html#year1976.
Key:
States with limited gender equality provisions
Michigan
- “2006 Michigan Official General Election Results,” Michigan Secretary of State, https://mielections.us/election/results/06GEN/.
Key:
States with active state ERA ratification efforts
Minnesota
The proposed amendment reads: “Equality under the law shall not be abridged or denied on account of gender.” Background In 2019, the proposed amendment passed in the Minnesota House of Representatives but did not advance through the state senate. The house reintroduced the ERA in 2022. Jurisprudence Under the Minnesota Constitution, intermediate scrutiny applies to gender-based classifications. State on Behalf of Forslund v. Bronson, 305 N.W.2d 748 (1981). Even without an explicit ERA, in Doe v. Minnesota (Minn. 2d Jud. Dist. No. 62-cv-19-3868), a district court on July 11, 2022, blocked abortion restrictions based on the state constitution’s liberty and equal protection provisions, holding that abortion is a fundamental right that gets the highest scrutiny. Minnesota ratified the federal ERA on February 8, 1973. Sources ERA Minnesota, https://www.eramn.org/.
Mississippi
Missouri
Key:
States with ERAs
Montana
- “Proposed 1972 Constitution for the State of Montana: Official Text with Explanation,” Montana Constitutional Convention, https://sosmt.gov/Portals/142/Elections/archives/1970s/1972_VIP.pdf?dt=1523477333219.
Key:
States with limited gender equality provisions
Nebraska
- “Official Results of Nebraska General Election - November 4, 2008,” Nebraska Secretary of State, https://sos.nebraska.gov/sites/sos.nebraska.gov/files/doc/elections/2008/2008%20General%20Canvass%20Book.pdf.
- Tom O'Connor, “UNMC learns more on diversity post Initiative 424,” University of Nebraska Medical Center, March 27, 2009, https://www.unmc.edu/news.cfm?match=5530.
- Christopher Burbach, “No vote this year, but efforts to repeal Nebraska’s affirmative action ban will continue,” The Omaha World Herald, July 27, 2020, https://omaha.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/no-vote-this-year-but-efforts-to-repeal-nebraskas-affirmative-action-ban-will-continue/article_769c597a-63b9-5126-978e-82316c957064.html.
Key:
States with ERAs
Nevada
- Victoria Antram, “Nevada voters will decide whether to add an equal rights amendment to the state constitution,” The Center Square, March 29, 2021, https://www.thecentersquare.com/nevada/nevada-voters-will-decide-whether-to-add-an-equal-rights-amendment-to-the-state-constitution/article_32533af8-90ab-11eb-877d-6312e94073d8.html.
- “Ballot Questions,” Nevada Secretary of State, 2022, https://silverstateelection.nv.gov/ballot-questions/.
Key:
States with ERAs
New Hampshire
- “Manual for the General Court,” New Hampshire Secretary of State, 1975, https://archive.org/details/manualforgeneral44newh/mode/1up?view=theater.
Key:
States with limited gender equality provisions
New Jersey
- “Result of the General Election Held November 4th, 1947,” New Jersey Secretary of State, https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjgl9rntZ75AhV0GjQIHZTfCsUQFnoECAQQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnj.gov%2Fstate%2Felections%2Fassets%2Fpdf%2Felection-results%2F1920-1970%2F%2F1947-general-election.pdf&usg=AOvVaw34KuzQLtldEeEGClEa4YgV.
Key:
States with ERAs
New Mexico
- Susanne Burkes, "'Equal Rights' To Bring Change," Albuquerque Journal, November 14, 1972, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q6j6C_siA16yDXhjwDMLjN0N0kwof_zl/view?usp=sharing.
- “Piecemeal Amendment of the Constitution of New Mexico 1911 to 2014,” New Mexico Legislative Council Service, 2014, https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nmlegis.gov/Publications/New_Mexico_State_Government/Piecemeal_Amendment_Dec2014.pdf&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1655847452435322&usg=AOvVaw1R-qAX6T6Kz2aKaniRWDGz.
Key:
States with active state ERA ratification efforts
New York
- Grace Ashford, “New York Moves to Enshrine Abortion Rights in State Constitution,” New York Times, July 1, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/nyregion/abortion-ny-state-law.html.
- Katharine Bodde & Annie Zegers, “What You Need to Know About New York’s Equal Rights Amendment,” NYCLU, July 22, 2022, https://www.nyclu.org/en/news/what-you-need-know-about-new-yorks-equal-rights-amendment.
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Key:
States with ERAs
Oregon
- “2014 General Election Results,” Oregon Secretary of State, accessed August 8, 2022, http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873735.
Key:
States with ERAs
Pennsylvania
- “Ballot Questions and Proposed Amendments to the Pennsylvania Constitution,” General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission, 1998, http://jsg.legis.state.pa.us/resources/documents/ftp/publications/1998-75-BALLOT%20QUESTIONS%20REPORT.pdf.
- Gary Mayk, “Governor to Appoint Student Trustee,” The Daily Collegian, May 15, 1971, https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn85054904/1971-05-15/ed-1/seq-1/.
Key:
States with limited gender equality provisions
Rhode Island
- “Referenda Elections for Rhode Island,” Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, 2002, https://cdn.ballotpedia.org/images/0/07/Referenda_Elections_for_Rhode_Island_1968-1990.pdf&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1659111503090661&usg=AOvVaw1XJjuXBNFgj0Mxxtlm-fz5.
- John Kiffney, “Convention delegates offer first resolutions Seashore rights, recall method are among ideas aired,” The Providence Journal, January 28, 1986, https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/1525BCD22628C4B0.
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Key:
States with ERAs
Texas
- SJR 16, 62nd R.S. (Tex. 1972), https://lrl.texas.gov/legis/billsearch/amendmentDetails.cfm?amendmentID=331&legSession=62-0&billTypedetail=SJR&billNumberDetail=16.
Key:
States with ERAs
Utah
- “Constitution of the State of Utah 1896,” Utah State Archives,https://archives.utah.gov/research/exhibits/Statehood/ordinance7.htm.
Key:
States with active state ERA ratification efforts
Vermont
- April McCullum, “Virginia just ratified the Equal Rights Amendment. Where does Vermont stand?” Burlington Free Press, January 16, 2022, https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2020/01/16/equal-rights-amendment-era-vermont-stance/4487012002/.
- PR 4 (2019), https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2020/PR.4.
Key:
States with ERAs
Virginia
- “1970 - Question 1,”Virginia Department of Elections, https://historical.elections.virginia.gov/ballot_questions/view/3526/.
- “Making the Case for the Equal Rights Amendment” (2019), https://acluva.org/en/news/making-case-equal-rights-amendment.
Key:
States with ERAs
Washington
“November 1972 General Election Results,” Washington Secretary of State, West Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Key:
States with ERAs
Wyoming
- “Constitution of the State of Wyoming,” Wyoming Secretary of State, https://sos.wyo.gov/Forms/Publications/WYConstitution.pdf.
This summary report was researched and prepared by Sadie Logerfo-Olsen (Fordham Law School) and Katie Hawkinson (Georgetown University) during their 2022 summer internship at the Brennan Center for Justice. Alicia Bannon, director of the judiciary program at the Brennan Center, and Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, executive director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network at NYU School of Law, conceptualized and supervised this project. Ting Ting Cheng, director of the ERA Project at Columbia Law School, provided invaluable contributions; she is currently developing model policy agendas for state executives to robustly implement state ERAs.
A version of this resource was also published in Ms. magazine.
UPDATE: This resource has been updated to state that Minnesota ratified the federal ERA on February 8, 1973.
UPDATE: This resource has been updated to reflect that Nevada voted to amend its state constitution to add an Equal Rights Amendment on November 8, 2022.
