A Critical Juncture: Outlining A Strategy for Final Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment

This policy brief provides a strategic vision for final ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (“ERA”) as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The ERA has satisfied all requirements for constitutional amendment under Article V of the Constitution. However, finalization has stalled with debate focused on procedural questions, including the expiration of a congressionally imposed deadline for ratification in 1982 and attempts by states to rescind their prior ratifications. Meanwhile, the ERA is more popular today than ever before in its over 100-year history, as voters overwhelmingly prioritize gender equality and reproductive rights. The project of amending the Constitution is a fundamentally democratic process, and Congress, as the most representative branch of the federal government, possesses the sole authority to resolve the remaining issues impeding final recognition of the ERA as the 28th Amendment.

ERA advocates have advanced several views regarding the best strategy for moving the ERA to final ratification. Our considered opinion leads us to conclude that a congressional strategy, rather than one focused on the Archivist, is the best path to pursue both from a legal and a political standpoint.