1975 New Jersey Public Question 2
4 November 1975
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Shall Article 1 of the Constitution be amended, as agreed to by the Legislature, by the addition of the following paragraph? "20A. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex. The Legislature shall by law provide for the enforcement of the provisions of this paragraph." | ||||||||||
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1975 New Jersey Public Question 2 was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of New Jersey to prohibit the denial or abridgment of equal rights on account of sex. The amendment failed, receiving 48.83% of the vote, and the support of 9 out of 21 counties.
Background
The amendment was proposed as the federal Equal Rights Amendment was being debated.[1]
Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 67 placed the amendment on the ballot. In the New Jersey Senate, the resolution was passed by a 32 to 1 vote.[2]
Discussion
- State Senator Carol Bellamy: “There was such anxiety. So many women talked to had a sense that we wanted to take something away from them, some privilege or benefit that in most cases they don't really have.”
- State Senator Karen S. Burstein: "It came down to a question of credibility. They'd say E.R.A. would mean unisex toilets. We'd say there was no way E.R.A. would mean unisex toilets. Well, if someone came away believing there was even a 1‐in‐100 chance of unisex toilets, then she'd vote against E.R.A.”[3]
Contents
PUBLIC QUESTION No. 2
EQUALITY OF RIGHTS OF WOMEN
Shall Article 1 of the Constitution be amended, as agreed to by the Legislature, by the addition of the following paragraph?
"20A. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex. The Legislature shall by law provide for the enforcement of the provisions of this paragraph."[4]
Results
The following table details the results by county:[4]
| County | Yes | No | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | |
| Atlantic | 22,009 | 52.61 | 19,823 | 47.39 |
| Bergen | 129,863 | 50.23 | 128,663 | 49.77 |
| Burlington | 35,828 | 54.68 | 29,691 | 45.32 |
| Camden | 57,771 | 57.78 | 42,209 | 42.22 |
| Cape May | 10,648 | 50.61 | 10,390 | 49.39 |
| Cumberland | 14,498 | 49.97 | 14,518 | 50.03 |
| Essex | 72,707 | 49.25 | 74,916 | 50.75 |
| Gloucester | 24,480 | 51.84 | 22,744 | 48.16 |
| Hudson | 58,701 | 52.74 | 52,597 | 47.26 |
| Hunterdon | 10,507 | 49.89 | 10,552 | 50.11 |
| Mercer | 43,460 | 56.42 | 33,564 | 43.58 |
| Middlesex | 66,141 | 47.58 | 72,874 | 52.42 |
| Monmouth | 61,266 | 48.58 | 64,845 | 51.42 |
| Morris | 46,432 | 44.68 | 57,487 | 55.32 |
| Ocean | 34,289 | 44.59 | 42,614 | 55.41 |
| Passaic | 33,448 | 38.24 | 54,018 | 61.76 |
| Salem | 7,503 | 49.79 | 7,565 | 50.21 |
| Somerset | 23,508 | 44.27 | 29,589 | 55.73 |
| Sussex | 10,603 | 42.96 | 14,076 | 57.04 |
| Union | 55,599 | 42.06 | 76,588 | 57.94 |
| Warren | 9,029 | 50.82 | 8,738 | 49.18 |
| Total | 828,290 | 48.83 | 868,061 | 51.17 |
References
- ^ Laing, Mercedes A. (November 5, 1975). "Voter's in Jersey, New York, Defeat State-Wide ERA's". The Harvard Crimson. Archived from the original on November 3, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
- ^ "Journal of the Senate of the State of New Jersey".
- ^ Greenhouse, Linda (November 6, 1975). "Defeat of Equal Rights Bills Traced to Women's Votes". The New York Times. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
- ^ a b "State of New Jersey Results of the General Election Held November 4, 1975" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on October 4, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.