Pennsylvania Question 3, Equal Rights Regardless of Race or Ethnicity Amendment (May 2021)

Pennsylvania Question 3
Election date May 18, 2021
Topic Constitutional rights and Race and ethnicity
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

2021 measures
May 18
Pennsylvania Question 1
Pennsylvania Question 2
Pennsylvania Question 3
Pennsylvania Question 4
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Pennsylvania Question 3, the Equal Rights Regardless of Race or Ethnicity Amendment, was on the ballot in Pennsylvania as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in May 18, 2021. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported adding language to the state constitution that prohibits the denial or abridgement of rights on account of an individual's race or ethnicity.

A "no" vote opposed adding language to the state constitution that prohibits the denial or abridgment of rights on account of an individual's race or ethnicity.

Election results

Pennsylvania Question 3
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		1,629,889	72.31%
No		624,205	27.69%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did this ballot measure add to the Pennsylvania Constitution?

The ballot measure added the following section to the Pennsylvania Constitution's Declaration of Rights: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because of the race or ethnicity of the individual."

How did this constitutional amendment make the ballot?

The ballot measure was added to legislation, Senate Bill 1166, addressing different constitutional changes in 2020. The original legislation included a constitutional amendment to limit the governor's emergency powers. Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-7) proposed that the bill also include a constitutional amendment addressing equality of rights. The Pennsylvania State Senate added Sen. Hughes' proposal to the bill through a unanimous vote.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended by adding a new section providing that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of an individual’s race or ethnicity?

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary was as follows:

“ Joint Resolution No. 2021-1, if approved by the electorate, will add a new section to Article I of the Pennsylvania Constitution. This amendment creates a constitutional prohibition against restricting or denying an individual’s equal rights under Pennsylvania law because of race or ethnicity. Generally, inclusion of this amendment within the Pennsylvania Constitution signifies that freedom from discrimination based on race or ethnicity is an essential principle of liberty and free government. This amendment applies to all Pennsylvania state, county and local governmental entities, and guarantees equality of rights under the law. The amendment, if enacted, will become a part of the Pennsylvania Constitution. As such, its provisions must be applied consistent with the other provisions of the Constitution. This equal right to be free from racial or ethnic discrimination will exist independent from any such rights under the United States Constitution or corresponding federal law. If the current federal protections proscribing racial or ethnic discrimination are abolished, the prohibition against such discrimination will remain in the Pennsylvania Constitution. The amendment is limited in that it creates a right only under Pennsylvania law. Once added to the Pennsylvania Constitution, the right to be free from racial or ethnic discrimination under the law cannot be eliminated except by a judicial decision finding the amendment unconstitutional or the approval of a subsequent constitutional amendment. If approved, the General Assembly may pass new laws to implement the amendment, but it may not pass a law inconsistent with it. ”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article I, Pennsylvania Constitution

The measure added a Section 29 to Article I of the Pennsylvania Constitution. The following underlined text was added:

Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because of the race or ethnicity of the individual.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2021

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The Pennsylvania Secretary of State wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 19, and the FRE is 18. The word count for the ballot title is 32, and the estimated reading time is 8 seconds. The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 16, and the FRE is 17. The word count for the ballot summary is 243, and the estimated reading time is 1 minute, 4 seconds.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D)
• Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D)

Political Parties

• Democratic Party of Pennsylvania

Organizations

• ACLU of Pennsylvania
• National Association of Social Workers, Pennsylvania Chapter

Arguments

• State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-7): "Discrimination based on race is cooked into the DNA of this nation and we must take action to explicitly prohibit racial and ethnic discrimination in Pennsylvania’s Constitution. It’s reflected in our long and troubling history in Pennsylvania, our nation’s foundational documents, our education system, our lending practices, housing access, health care, hiring and how we police. We need additional protections based on that history and the reality in this nation right now."
• ACLU of Pennsylvania: "The proposed equality amendment to Pennsylvania’s constitution has the potential to expand protections against racial and ethnic discrimination, protect against unintentional but still disproportionate impacts on people of color, challenge discriminatory actions by non-governmental entities, while still permitting race-conscious programs that increase equality."

Opposition

Ballotpedia has not identified a campaign in opposition to Question 3.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Pennsylvania ballot measures

Ballotpedia has not identified ballot measure committees registered to support or oppose the ballot measure.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Media editorials

Support

• The Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board: "There are protections against discrimination in the Pennsylvania constitution, but this amendment aims to make it as clear as possible by adding to article I of the Commonwealth’s constitution that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of an individual’s race or ethnicity.” This codifies an existing and important protection."
• The Observer–Reporter Editorial Board: "This amendment would spell out clearly that Pennsylvania does not countenance bigotry and intolerance based on race or ethnicity. Who, in the 21st century, could object to that?"

Opposition

Ballotpedia has not identified media editorial boards in opposition to Question 3.

Background

Equality of rights in Pennsylvania Constitution

Article I of the Pennsylvania Constitution is known as the Declaration of Rights. As of 2021, the declaration's first section stated that "all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing and protecting property and reputation, and of pursuing their own happiness."

In 1971, voters approved a constitutional amendment that added Section 28 to the Declaration of Rights. Section 28 stated that "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because of the sex of the individual."

Equal rights regardless of race in state constitutions

The following map highlights the states with constitutions that include language for equal rights regardless of race. There are several other state constitutions that address equal rights regardless of race in certain sectors—government, education, public contracting, real estate, or employment—but not in general.

Constitutional amendments in Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, the state legislature can propose amendments to the state constitution. Between 1995 and 2020, the state legislature referred 14 constitutional amendments to the ballot. All 14 of the constitutional amendments were approved. As of 2020, voters last rejected a constitutional amendment in 1989. The following chart illustrates trends in constitutional amendments on the ballot in Pennsylvania:

Constitutional amendments on the ballot in Pennsylvania, 1995-2020
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Odd-year average	Odd-year median	Odd-year minimum	Odd-year maximum
14	14	100%	0	0%	0.5	0.0	0	3

Path to the ballot

Amending the Pennsylvania Constitution

See also: Amending the Pennsylvania Constitution

In Pennsylvania, a simple majority vote is required in two successive sessions of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot.

2019-2020 legislative session

The constitutional amendment was introduced into the Pennsylvania General Assembly as Senate Bill 1166 (SB 1166) during the 2019-2020 legislative session. SB 1166 included three ballot measures to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution—the Equal Rights Regardless of Race or Ethnicity Amendment, the Governor's Emergency Declaration Amendment, and the Legislative Resolution to Extend or Terminate Emergency Declaration Amendment.

The original version of SB 1166 addressed emergency powers. Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-7) proposed that SB 1166 also include a constitutional amendment addressing equality of rights regardless of race or ethnicity. The full Senate voted to add the amendment to SB 1166.

On July 14, 2020, the state House of Representatives voted 115-86 to pass SB 1166. On July 15, 2020, the state Senate voted 33-17 to pass SB 1166.

Vote in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives July 14, 2020
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber in two sessions; or two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber on an emergency amendment in one session
Number of yes votes required: 102  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	115	86	1
Total percent	56.93%	42.57%	0.50%
Democrat	7	86	0
Republican	108	0	1

Vote in the Pennsylvania State Senate July 15, 2020
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber in two sessions; or two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber on an emergency amendment in one session
Number of yes votes required: 26  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	33	17	0
Total percent	66.00%	34.00%	0.00%
Democrat	4	17	0
Republican	28	0	0
Independent	1	0	0

2021-2022 legislative session

The three-amendment resolution was reintroduced into the state legislature as Senate Bill 2 (SB 2) during the 2021-2022 legislative session.

On January 26, 2021, the Pennsylvania State Senate voted 28 to 20 to pass the legislation. On February 5, 2021, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted 116 to 86 to pass the legislation. With approval during two legislative sessions, the three constitutional amendments were referred to the ballot.

Vote in the Pennsylvania State Senate January 26, 2021
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber in two sessions; or two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber on an emergency amendment in one session
Number of yes votes required: 25  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	28	20	1
Total percent	57.14%	40.82%	2.04%
Democrat	1	20	0
Republican	26	0	1
Independent	1	0	0

Vote in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives February 5, 2021
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber in two sessions; or two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber on an emergency amendment in one session
Number of yes votes required: 102  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	116	86	0
Total percent	57.43%	42.57%	0.00%
Democrat	4	86	0
Republican	112	0	0

See also

2021 measures

• 2021 ballot measures
• Constitutional rights on the ballot

Pennsylvania

• Pennsylvania ballot measures
• Pennsylvania ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Pennsylvania

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Pennsylvania.

How to cast a vote in Pennsylvania

The information below covers regular voting policies in the state. Information may have not applied to the election on November 3, 2020, because of temporary changes in response to coronavirus. Click here to read about changes made for the 2020 elections. Poll times In Pennsylvania, all polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration Check your voter registration status here. To register to vote in Pennsylvania, an applicant must be a citizen of the United States for at least one month before the next election, a resident of the district in which he or she is registering for at least 30 days before the next election, and at least 18 years old by the day of the next election. The deadline for registering to vote is 15 days before the election. Registration can be done online, in person, or by mail. Prospective voters can register in person at the county voter registration office or at a number of state agencies, including Pennsylvania Department of Transportation centers. The Pennsylvania voter registration application is available online and can be mailed to the county voter registration office. On September 19, 2023, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) announced that the state had implemented automatic voter registration. Automatic registration Pennsylvania practices automatic voter registration. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Pennsylvania implemented an online voter registration system in 2015. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registration Pennsylvania does not allow same-day voter registration. Residency requirements Prospective voters must be residents of the district in which they are registering for at least 30 days before the next election. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States Pennsylvania does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury. All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registration The Pennsylvania Department of State allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website. Voter ID requirements Pennsylvania does not generally require voters to present identification while voting. However, a voter who is voting at a polling place for the first time must present identification. Voters can present the following forms of identification. This list was current as of October 2024. Click here to ensure you have current information. “ Approved forms of photo identification include: Pennsylvania driver’s license or PennDOT ID card ID issued by any Commonwealth agency ID issued by the U.S. Government U.S. passport U.S. Armed Forces ID Student ID Employee ID If you do not have a photo ID, you can use a non-photo identification that includes your name and address. Confirmation issued by the County Voter Registration Office Non-photo ID issued by the Commonwealth Non-photo ID issued by the U.S. Government Firearm permit Current utility bill Current bank statement Current paycheck Government check ”

External links

• Senate Bill 1166 (2020)