EMILYs List Statement on Virginia’s Historic Step Toward Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment

For Immediate Release
January 15, 2020

EMILYs List Statement on Virginia’s Historic Step Toward Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly voted to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, making Virginia the critical 38th state to approve the amendment to the United States Constitution. In response, Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:

“As Virginia goes, so goes the nation. That couldn’t be more true today as Democrats in Virginia delivered a huge victory for women's rights in the Commonwealth and country at large by passing the ERA. EMILYs List is so proud that pro-choice Democratic women have led this movement to make Virginia the crucial 38th state needed to finally cement women’s rights in our Constitution.”

“It’s a shame that decades after Congress originally passed the ERA that women still don’t have equal protections in the Constitution. But today’s votes are a true testament to the power of women’s voices and leadership, and we look forward to electing more pro-choice Democratic women to change history for years to come.”

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $600 million to elect pro-choice Democratic women candidates. With a grassroots community of over five million members, EMILY's List helps Democratic women win competitive campaigns – across the country and up and down the ballot – by recruiting and training candidates, supporting strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect 150 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and nearly 1,100 women to state and local office. Nearly 40 percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. During the historic 2017-2018 cycle, EMILYs List raised a record-breaking $110 million and launched a record independent expenditure campaign. We helped elect 34 new women to the House, including 24 red-to-blue victories; enough seats to have delivered the U.S. House majority alone. Since the 2016 election, more than 50,000 women have reached out to EMILY's List about running for office laying the groundwork for the next decade of candidates for local, state and national offices.