BY CARRIE N. BAKER | Article V of the U.S. Constitution sets out two requirements for amendments: approval by two-thirds of both chambers of Congress, and ratification by three-fourths (38) of the states. - In 1971, the U.S. House of Representative approved the Equal Rights Amendment with a bipartisan vote of 354–24. The next year, the Senate approved the ERA by another bipartisan vote of 84-8.
- In January of 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA.
But despite finally achieving all of the requirements to become an amendment to the Constitution, recognition of the ERA was blocked by the Trump administration.
The final ministerial steps to make a constitutional amendment official is for the U.S. archivist to verify the ratifications, then draft a formal proclamation certifying that the amendment is valid and is part of the Constitution. This certification is then published in the Federal Register and the United States Statutes at Large and serves as official notice to Congress and the nation that the amendment process has been completed. But these final steps never happened. (Click here to read more) |
