In New York, a constitutional amendment provides election fodder for the left and the right

Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Democrats pushed to get a constitutional amendment on New York’s ballot this November because they believed it could energize liberals eager to protect abortion rights. Republicans are now hoping the same amendment will ignite a fire under people upset about transgender athletes participating in girls’ and women’s sports. The broad language of the state’s proposed “Equal Rights Amendment” has been at the center of court fights and is emerging as one of the more unusual ideological battles of the 2024 election season, in part because of disagreements about what it will actually do, if passed. On paper, the proposed amendment would expand the state Constitution’s anti-discrimination protections to include a host of new terms such as sex, age, gender identity and more.