They need 116-thousand valid signatures by early July to put the issue on the November ballot.

Leanne Littrell DiLorenzo of Portland is the President of Vote ERA.org and is the force behind the effort.

"It's going great.  We've collected over 35-thousand signatures, plus five thousand more.  And we were just approved by the Attorney General's Office ten to eleven weeks ago.  So people are excited."

The state legislature failed to pass an equal rights amendment last year, so that's why the initiative drive got underway.

"We believe it's important that women are expressly equal in the Oregon constitution and the federal constitution for that matter.  We say "Study the the past, protect the future. " The question is why wouldn't Oregon want to support equality of women in the Oregon constitution?"

This state wide effort coincides with a revived national campaign to pass a federal equal rights amendment.