ERA Ratification States 2026

Equal Rights Amendment Ratification

Under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, a proposed amendment must be ratified by three-quarters of the states—38 out of 50—to become part of the Constitution. Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972 and submitted it to the states for ratification.

Many states ratified the amendment during the 1970s, though several later voted to rescind their approval. Decades later, a small number of additional states adopted ratification resolutions, renewing debate over whether the amendment can still be adopted because the original congressional ratification deadline expired in 1982.

Today, states fall into three broad categories: those that ratified the ERA, those that ratified but later attempted to rescind their ratification, and those that have never ratified it.

States That Ratified the ERA

Many states voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment after it was approved by Congress in 1972. Most of these ratifications occurred during the early 1970s, when the amendment initially gained broad legislative support across the country. Several decades later, a small number of additional states also adopted ratification resolutions.

States that ratified the ERA include Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

States That Ratified but Later Rescinded

A small number of states initially voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment but later adopted resolutions attempting to rescind their approval. Whether states have the constitutional authority to withdraw a ratification after the fact remains a subject of legal debate, as the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly address rescissions in the amendment process.

States that ratified the ERA but later attempted to rescind their ratification include Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Tennessee.

States That Have Not Ratified the ERA

Some states have never voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. In these jurisdictions, state legislatures either declined to approve the amendment or have not passed a ratification resolution since it was first proposed in 1972.

States that have not ratified the ERA include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah.