Plans this year
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The League of Women Voters of Wilmette supports the efforts of LWVIL, who is actively working to make 2022 the year that the Equal Rights Amendment gets certified as the 28th amendment to the US Constitution.
You can follow ERA developments on our "ERA YES" Facebook page. If you are interested in continuing to help pass ERA, please send an email to lwvweraprogram@gmail.com. There is much more to do. We appreciate you! |
ERA BACKGROUND: 100-YEAR BATTLE FOR EQUALITY
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LEGISLATION DRAFTING HISTORY
1923: suffragist Alice Paul first drafted the Equal Rights Amendment.
1972: on March 22nd, Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment in the language used today. Overwhelming majorities in both the US House (354-24) and Senate (84-8) approved of this legislation, which Congress then sent to the states for ratification. In order to be added to the Constitution, it needed approval by legislatures in three-fourths (38) of the 50 states. |
RATIFICATION HISTORY
1972: 22 states ratified ERA. These were Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
1973: 8 more states ratified ERA. These were Connecticut, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming.
1974: 3 additional states ratified ERA. These were Maine, Montana, and Ohio.
1975: North Dakota ratified ERA.
1977: Indiana ratified ERA.
2017: Nevada ratified ERA.
2018: Illinois ratified ERA on May 30th.
2020: Virginia ratified ERA on January 27th, becoming the 38th state to do so, thereby meeting the constitutionally-required threshold for becoming a Constitutional amendment.
However, in light of questions about the amount of time elapsed between the original proposal and final state ratification, the Archivist of the US refused to record and certify Virginia’s ratification and publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution. Shortly thereafter, Illinois, Nevada and Virginia filed suit to compel the US Archivist to certify and publish the ERA.
2022: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with attorneys general from Nevada and Virginia, filed a brief on Jan 3, 2022 with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The brief appeals the decision of a lower court judge last March to dismiss their lawsuit to compel certification of the ERA.
On January 10, LWVIL joined more than 20 organizations from Illinois, Nevada and Virginia in a supporting amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in support of the case. Eleven other supporting briefs were filed the same day, representing more than one hundred corporations, constitutional scholars, and coalitions.
1973: 8 more states ratified ERA. These were Connecticut, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming.
1974: 3 additional states ratified ERA. These were Maine, Montana, and Ohio.
1975: North Dakota ratified ERA.
1977: Indiana ratified ERA.
2017: Nevada ratified ERA.
2018: Illinois ratified ERA on May 30th.
2020: Virginia ratified ERA on January 27th, becoming the 38th state to do so, thereby meeting the constitutionally-required threshold for becoming a Constitutional amendment.
However, in light of questions about the amount of time elapsed between the original proposal and final state ratification, the Archivist of the US refused to record and certify Virginia’s ratification and publish the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution. Shortly thereafter, Illinois, Nevada and Virginia filed suit to compel the US Archivist to certify and publish the ERA.
2022: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with attorneys general from Nevada and Virginia, filed a brief on Jan 3, 2022 with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The brief appeals the decision of a lower court judge last March to dismiss their lawsuit to compel certification of the ERA.
On January 10, LWVIL joined more than 20 organizations from Illinois, Nevada and Virginia in a supporting amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in support of the case. Eleven other supporting briefs were filed the same day, representing more than one hundred corporations, constitutional scholars, and coalitions.
LWVUS POSITION IN BRIEF |
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