1971 Pennsylvania Amendment 2

Referendum on equal rights based upon sexMay 18, 1971 Pennsylvania Shall Article I of the Constitution be amended by adding a new section, prohibiting any denial or abridgment of rights because of an individual's sex? Yes #28497C 80–90% #47729E 70–80% #7D9CBB 60–70% #B6C8D9 50–60% No #8B8B54 70–80% #BCBC83 60–70% #DEDEBD 50–60% Other #EBEEED Tie #808080 No votes 280px County results 280px Partial municipality resultsMunicipality-level results: Chester County: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/131MKTYPNKCEGvHaXxKr8AhnXYF90N6iK8DK4Q6_Ex_E/edit?usp=sharing Columbia County: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19tZ0Tpg28YrAitAXceW6L5gt2kAJnOGZXSseJeb8ISo/edit?usp=sharing Dauphin County: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-G0idjK2OCpOpMbJgltYzDK-G8l_5J3bsdGbltjSE6c/edit?usp=sharing Delaware County: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-quzIL2n3Rfiw2X5C4RXLj-frWDWzDWO-WmS3ZV-hK4/edit?usp=sharing Forest County (cast no votes): "State and Congressional Files Returns, 1971, Primary Election Adams – Lackawanna". Department of State – via Pennsylvania State Archives. A newspaper reporting on the incident can be viewed here. Fulton County: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DmOnkBXg02P86GcYVtVsMyobcVD2bSceXo4OBJkaQ1k/edit?usp=sharing Indiana County: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LrlAITmNRa4Rohr-0ZG0eeSJQ5QFgJN02DjhWMhEox8/edit?usp=sharing Lancaster County: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kAd3lvrUiu23wjturthJ_K-38AgMQTiWwwdpzkypM-Y/edit?usp=sharing Lebanon County: https://www.newspapers.com/article/lebanon-daily-news-lebanon-county-pa/201138117/ Results found for Lebanon County are unofficial; however, the municipality results add up exactly to the official countywide results. Luzerne County (state house districts): https://www.newspapers.com/article/wilkes-barre-times-leader-the-evening-n/202839356/ Schuylkill County: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18H3J3u830viTQx_l8WEMMydxudqq5-9j9ED1gADHPrk/edit?usp=sharing Somerset County: https://www.co.somerset.pa.us/files/voter_files/Voter%20Books/Fed-State-County/1971/1971%20Democratic%20Municipal%20Primary-Fed-State-County.pdf Susquehanna County: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LIRSSqusNEhgD7O4LRZkAemsdoLDx5yYatsVxL3Mmig/edit?usp=sharing Venango County: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16v8wHxo7Gd47CG-zworwDMlzJyJD8xKG-n3UVBVIv1o/edit?usp=sharing York County: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tXwk_tvUenyNNFLgWh7_vazgRIpxwWsQvrWYa8iRGjo/edit?usp=sharing 783,439 464,915 1971 Pennsylvania Amendment 2 was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Pennsylvania to guarantee equal rights on account of sex. Placed on the ballot by House Bill 1678 and House Bill 14, the measure was approved with over 62% of the vote in favor, and with the backing of 61 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. Legislation House Bill 1678 of the 1969–1970 regular session and House Bill 14 of the 1971–1972 regular session placed the amendment on the ballot.House Bill 1678 https://www.palegis.us/legislation/bills/1969/hb1678 10 January 2026 Pennsylvania General AssemblyHouse Bill 14 https://www.palegis.us/legislation/bills/1971/hb0014 10 January 2026 Pennsylvania General Assembly Both bills' prime sponsor was State Rep. Gerald Kaufman. Kaufman introduced the first bill after he was urged to do so by six women who, at the time, were members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. No hearings were held on the bills, and both were passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Pennsylvania Senate unanimously in both sessions. The original text of the bill proposed that the constitution be amended to add the following language:Printer's No. 2126 https://www.palegis.us/legislation/bills/text/PDF/1969/0/HB1678/PN2126 July 19, 2026 Pennsylvania General AssemblySection 27. Prohibition Against Denial or Abridgment of Equality or Rights Because of Sex.—Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because of the sex of the individual.Two subsequent amendments to the bill, however, tweaked the wording. One amended the language to say that equal rights could not be denied or abridged "in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" rather than "by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,"Printer's No. 2248 https://www.palegis.us/legislation/bills/text/PDF/1969/0/HB1678/PN2248 July 19, 2026 Pennsylvania General Assembly and the second one fixed the typo in the section's title from "Equality or Rights" to "Equality of Rights".Printer's No. 2907 https://www.palegis.us/legislation/bills/text/PDF/1969/0/HB1678/PN2907 July 19, 2026 Pennsylvania General Assembly The numbering of the amendment incorrectly being Section 27 rather than Section 28 was, however, not changed. After being ratified, the section initially was even erroneously identified as Section 27, and certain court cases, such as Commonwealth v. Santiago, 340 A.2d 440, 445 (Pa. 1975), cited the section as such.Beck Phyllis W. Baker Joanne Alfano 1994 An Analysis of the Impact of the Pennsylvania Equal Rights Amendment https://superiorcourthistory.org/documents/An-Analysis-of-the-Impact-of-the-Pennsylvania-Equal-Rights-Amendment-1994-3WidenerJ.Pub_.L.743.-.pdf July 19, 2026 Historical Society of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania Endorsements Yes ;Newspapers The Danville NewsMay 14, 1971 Editorial comment https://www.newspapers.com/image/552401130/ July 3, 2026 The Danville News Newspapers.comNo ;Newspapers The Philadelphia InquirerMay 11, 1971 Equal Rights, Yes, But 'No' To Constitutional Amendment https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-1971-pennsylva/201170977/ July 7, 2026 The Philadelphia Inquirer Newspapers.com The Scranton Times-TribuneMay 12, 1971 Rights Amendment Could Be Harmful https://www.newspapers.com/image/530679001/ July 3, 2026 The Scranton Times-Tribune Newspapers.com Contents and amendment Ballot wording The measure, which was decided by voters on May 18, 1971, alongside four other amendments, had the following question and information shown to voters for it:May 13, 1971 1971 Pennsylvania ballot measures information https://www.newspapers.com/article/public-opinion-1971-pennsylvania-ballot/200397796/ June 26, 2026 Newspapers.com Public OpinionJoint Resolution 2 Shall Article I of the Constitution be amended by adding a new section, prohibiting any denial or abridgment of rights because of an individual's sex? Yes No Amendment language The amendment added Section 28 to Article 1 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania:Shapp Milton J. Milton Shapp Constitutional Amendment—Article 1 https://www.paconstitution.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/A1S28-PL-JR2-1971.pdf July 19, 2026 PA ConstitutionSection 28. Prohibition Against Denial or Abridgement of Equality of Rights because of Sex.—Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because of the sex of the individual. Results thumb|300x300px|Percentage of Pennsylvania voters who cast a vote on Amendment 2 by county. #006d2cff Turnout percentage #41ab5dff 50–60% #74c476ff 40–50% #a1d99bff 30–40% #c7e9c0ff 20–30% #e5f5e0ff 10–20% #808080 No votes 61 counties voted in favor, 5 voted against, and Forest County cast no votes on the measure.Forest County election officials wrote in place of the certified results that a printing error had occurred on the ballot, which was not discovered until around 10 A.M. on Election Day, so no voting took place on any of the amendments on the ballot that election. The officials noted that 1,455 votes were cast in the county. The highest level of support came from Allegheny County, with 69.92% in favor, and the lowest level came from Huntingdon County, with 36.80% in favor.State and Congressional Files Returns, 1971, Primary Election Adams – Lackawanna Department of State Pennsylvania State ArchivesState and Congressional Files Returns, 1971, Primary Election Lancaster – York Department of State Pennsylvania State Archives CountyYesNo#%#%Adams3,33057.262,48642.74Allegheny139,44969.9259,97830.08Armstrong9,58657.647,04542.36Beaver23,67858.3416,91041.66Bedford2,84653.942,43046.06Berks16,81266.058,64233.95Blair10,55147.0411,87752.96Bradford6,33657.744,63842.26Bucks17,78566.908,80033.10Butler10,28464.995,53935.01Cambria18,48559.9912,33140.01Cameron1,17165.9360534.07Carbon1,77061.311,11738.69Centre7,67366.763,82033.24Chester22,65666.0611,64133.94Clarion3,69458.862,58241.14Clearfield5,58151.405,27748.60Clinton4,26056.543,27543.46Columbia6,00754.325,05245.68Crawford5,43166.882,69033.12Cumberland8,12064.974,37935.03Dauphin10,33165.245,505The municipality-level results for Dauphin County add up to 5,505 no votes,Results data was obtained from the Dauphin County Bureau of Registration and Elections, and was transcribed into Google Sheets. The Google Sheet containing the data can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-G0idjK2OCpOpMbJgltYzDK-G8l_5J3bsdGbltjSE6c/edit?usp=sharing 33 more than the certified number of 5,472.34.76Delaware29,564The municipality-level results for Delaware County add up to 29,564 yes votes,Results data was obtained from the Delaware County Archives, and was transcribed into Google Sheets. The Google Sheet containing the data can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-quzIL2n3Rfiw2X5C4RXLj-frWDWzDWO-WmS3ZV-hK4/edit?usp=sharing six more than the certified number of 29,558.69.2813,11230.72Elk3,16356.252,46043.75Erie23,41664.9012,66435.10Fayette7,43458.835,20241.17ForestForest County election officials wrote in place of the certified results that a printing error had occurred on the ballot, which was not discovered until around 10 A.M. on Election Day, so no voting took place on any of the amendments on the ballot that election. The officials noted that 1,455 votes were cast in the county. - - - -Franklin5,57757.914,05442.09Fulton56741.3380558.67Greene4,71657.553,47942.45Huntingdon2,27436.803,90563.20Indiana7,351The municipality-level results for Indiana County add up to 7,351 yes votes,Results data was obtained from the Indiana County Board of Elections, and was transcribed into Google Sheets. The Google Sheet containing the data can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LrlAITmNRa4Rohr-0ZG0eeSJQ5QFgJN02DjhWMhEox8/edit?usp=sharing eight less than the certified number of 7,359.58.145,29341.86Jefferson6,46960.314,25839.69Juniata1,27957.2395642.77Lackawanna13,03647.3314,50452.67Lancaster10,64055.978,36944.03Lawrence8,85161.245,60238.76Lebanon5,62566.112,88433.89Lehigh12,17164.056,83035.95Luzerne11,27161.437,07738.57Lycoming11,05257.178,28042.83McKean2,05362.861,21337.14Mercer6,44264.953,47635.05Mifflin2,73257.042,05842.96Monroe2,91361.951,78938.05Montgomery33,27869.5614,56430.44Montour1,96255.441,57744.56Northampton6,72662.674,00737.33Northumberland9,68654.268,16645.74Perry1,95255.271,58044.73Philadelphia105,85563.9859,59636.02Pike64262.3938737.61Potter2,01059.151,38840.85Schuylkill15,91662.889,39637.12Snyder2,43353.272,13446.73Somerset6,41253.675,53646.33Sullivan82458.8657641.14Susquehanna3,48950.973,35649.03Tioga4,14260.802,67039.20Union2,41253.452,10146.55Venango4,97966.342,52633.66Warren2,73567.251,33232.75Washington24,31661.2215,40338.78Wayne1,76249.271,81450.73Westmoreland25,96764.4114,34835.59Wyoming2,39955.891,89344.11York9,11061.615,67638.39State total783,439The municipality-level results for Delaware County add up to 29,564 yes votes, six more than the certified number of 29,558. The municipality-level results for Indiana County add up to 7,351 yes votes,Results data was obtained from the Indiana County Board of Elections, and was transcribed into Google Sheets. The Google Sheet containing the data can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LrlAITmNRa4Rohr-0ZG0eeSJQ5QFgJN02DjhWMhEox8/edit?usp=sharing eight less than the certified number of 7,359.As such, two votes have been subtracted from the statewide yes total (783,441 to 783,439).62.76464,915The municipality-level results for Dauphin County add up to 5,505 no votes, 33 more than the certified number of 5,472. As such, 33 votes have been added to the statewide no total (464,882 to 464,915).37.24 Analysis and later events Pennsylvania became the first state in the United States to amend its constitution to add an equal rights amendment.McKenna Lauren P. December 10, 2021 Fifty years of equal rights for women in Pennsylvania: A case for the federal Equal Rights Amendment https://whyy.org/articles/fifty-years-of-equal-rights-for-women-in-pennsylvania-a-case-for-the-federal-equal-rights-amendment/ June 26, 2026 WHYY Two other states, Utah and Wyoming, had equal rights provisions before 1971, but those had been adopted alongside their state constitutions, rather than being added by an amendment. In 2021, Pennsylvania amended its constitution to ban racial and ethnic discrimination. References Notes Category:1971 in Pennsylvania Category:1971 referendums Category:1970s Pennsylvania elections Category:Pennsylvania Constitutions