Virginia joins lawsuit to compel ratification of ERA

On January 27, 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Three days later, the state joined with Illinois and Nevada to file a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to compel the nation's archivist to recognize the ERA as a valid amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Legal issue

Virginia's ratification of the ERA brought the total number of states ratifying the amendment to the magic number of three-fourths of all states necessary to amend the constitution. It's a matter of legal debate, however, whether the state's vote in favor of ratification was enough to result in an amendment to the constitution.

When Congress passed the ERA and sent the proposed amendment to the states for a vote, it imposed a seven-year deadline, which was later extended by three more years, for the necessary ratification to occur. That time has long since passed. Additionally, in the intervening years, five states (Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Tennessee) have rescinded their previous ratifications.

In the face of the legal uncertainty, the U.S. archivist issued a statement in early January stating he would follow the U.S. Justice Department's guidance: Because Congress' imposed deadline for ratification has now expired, any belated efforts by the states to ratify the ERA have no effect. The archivist's stance is what prompted Virginia, Illinois, and Nevada to file their lawsuit.

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