The ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) Coalition and its sister organization, the Fund for Women’s Equality (FFWE), today unveiled its new interactive website prior to the upcoming national and state elections to identify those candidates that are pro-equality.
The Elect Equality election website is a powerful navigation tool with online resources to help voters find out where their candidates stand on the issue of equal rights for all. Twelve states have yet to ratify the ERA; eight of those states have contested races this year.
“This website is a game-changer,” said Mona Sinha, chair of FFWE. “Representation matters. Our voices must be carried forward by our elected candidates and they must be held accountable.”
“We cannot emphasize enough how crucial this election is to the future of equality in this country,” said Carol Jenkins, co-president and CEO of ERA and FFWE. “Generations ahead will be affected by whether or not pro-ERA candidates—up and down the ballot—are elected in November. Elect Equality.”
The site provides voters with a complete source of information on where the candidates stand for the 435 House seats, and 35 Senate seats that are up for election. The ERA Coalition has also partnered with Vote411.org, a project of the League of Women Voters, to help web users register to vote.
“Equality is on the ballot this year. Voters have the right to know where candidates stand on equal rights before casting their ballot,” said Dr. Deborah Turner, president of the League of Women Voters of the United States. “Elect Equality is an excellent tool for voters to learn about their candidate’s positions on equal rights which is why the League of Women Voters is proud to stand with the ERA Coalition ahead of the 2020 election in support of the ERA and Elect Equality.”
Women are a fearsome political force in the United States. According to a Pew Research Center study, since 1980, women have surpassed men as a voting bloc in every presidential election and continue to grow in numbers.
And public support for the ERA is at an all-time high: Results from the American Bar Association’s (ABA) 2020 Survey of Civic Literacy show that a wide majority of respondents—83 percent—believe it should be ratified and incorporated into the U.S. Constitution. Only 8 percent opposed. (This is a huge jump in public support compared to a 1975 Gallup Poll—during the prime of the movement—that showed only 58 percent of respondents favoring the addition of an ERA.)
“As the electorate becomes more and more engaged and informed, providing tools to hold candidates accountable to the value of equality is essential,” said Kimberly Peeler-Allen, chair of the ERA Coalition. “Ensuring that voters are electing candidates that align with their priorities will help enshrine the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
“We all know elections have consequences, but they also present opportunities,” said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University (CAWP). “Election 2020 is an opportunity to finally see equal rights for women codified in the Constitution. Knowing where candidates stand on the Equal Rights Amendment gives voters the tools to make decisions that will determine the outcome of the almost 100-year struggle for passage.”
