North Carolina voters deciding three constitutional amendments this fall are being asked questions that sound straightforward: Should voters show photo identification? Should the state limit income taxes? Should local property tax increases face limits?
However, the practical choices involve more than those broad principles. State law already requires voter ID – including for mail ballots. The income tax amendment wouldn’t itself deliver a new tax cut. And the property tax amendment would require legislators to establish a limit without telling voters what that limit will be.
All three questions are on the Tuesday, Nov. 3 ballot. Early voting ends Saturday, Oct. 31 at 3 p.m. Each amendment is a separate decision, with voters choosing “For” or “Against.” Each needs a simple majority of the votes cast on that question to pass.
The voter-ID question reads: “Constitutional amendment to require all voters, not just those presenting to vote in person, to present photo identification before voting.”
The distinction is between what’s already required by state law and what’s required by the state constitution: The constitution currently specifies photo identification for in-person voting; the amendment would remove that limitation, extending the constitutional requirement to other voting methods, including absentee voting by mail.
Approval would take effect upon certification of the results.
That doesn’t mean North Carolina currently lets mail voters bypass identification requirements. State law already requires photo ID or an applicable exception process for absentee-by-mail voting. A vote against the amendment wouldn’t repeal that law or eliminate the existing constitutional requirement for in-person voters.
Supporters argue that putting the broader requirement in the constitution would protect election security and make it harder for future legislators to remove. Republican Rep. Mike Schietzelt told WUNC that election policy must balance access for eligible voters with safeguards against interference.
Opponents question the need for an amendment when a law already covers mail voting. Guilford County Democratic Rep. Pricey Harrison told WUNC that the proposal adds an unnecessary hurdle and puts a policy in the constitution that would be difficult to change later.
The League of Women Voters of North Carolina also warns about potential barriers for older voters, students, military voters and rural residents.
However, the amendment expressly preserves lawmakers’ authority to provide exceptions. It doesn’t automatically abolish existing exceptions – though it doesn’t guarantee each current safeguard either.
The income tax question reads: “Constitutional amendment to keep the State income tax rate from being raised higher than three and one-half percent (3.5%).”
A vote for it would lower the constitutional ceiling from 7 percent to 3.5 percent for taxable years beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
The ceiling applies to both personal and corporate income taxes.
A ceiling, however, isn’t the same thing as the rate taxpayers actually pay.
The individual income tax rate for 2026 is 3.99 percent. Under legislation already enacted, it’s scheduled to fall to 3.49 percent in 2027 – just below the proposed constitutional maximum. That reduction doesn’t depend on voters approving this amendment.
In an Oct. 21 analysis, NC State University accounting professor Nathan Goldman explained that the amendment’s significance is its restriction on future tax policy, rather than an immediate reduction in taxpayers’ bills.
Voting against it would leave the 7 percent constitutional ceiling in place. It wouldn’t raise the actual rate to 7 percent or cancel the scheduled reduction. Voting for it would prevent future lawmakers from raising the rate above 3.5 percent without another constitutional change.
Supporters see that as lasting protection for families and businesses against future tax increases. Republican lawmakers argue that keeping taxes low leaves more money in private hands and encourages economic activity.
Opponents see a restriction that could become costly during a recession or when schools and other services need additional funding. They argue that future elected officials should retain more flexibility to respond.
The property tax question reads: “Constitutional amendment requiring limits on property tax increases by local governments.”
As the Rhino Times explained in June, this proposal doesn’t contain a percentage cap. Approval would create a constitutional duty for the General Assembly to enact laws limiting increases in property tax levies, with exceptions permitted. That duty would take effect upon certification; however, legislators would still have to establish the operating rules.
A levy is the total amount raised through the tax. Limiting its growth isn’t the same as freezing the assessed value of a house or guaranteeing that an individual homeowner’s bill can’t rise.
The formula, treatment of growth and possible exceptions would matter enormously. Voters, however, aren’t being presented with those details. Also, approval wouldn’t automatically lower a Guilford County tax bill or reverse a property revaluation.
Supporters argue that limits would protect residents from unaffordable increases and force local governments to control spending. Opponents argue that communities have different needs and they say a state-imposed restriction could squeeze schools, public safety and other services.
For Guilford County, the concern involves both levels of government. In an Oct. 13 resolution, the county’s school board warned that the two tax amendments together could constrain state education funding while limiting local governments’ ability to fill the gap. That’s a warning about possible future consequences – not an automatic spending cut written into either amendment.
Rejecting the property tax amendment would leave the constitution unchanged. It wouldn’t order a tax increase or prevent legislators from considering property tax limits through ordinary legislation.
These statewide questions are also separate from Guilford County’s quarter-cent sales tax referendum which is likely to fail for an eighth time.
Voters can review their own sample ballot through the State Board of Elections’ voter search tool.
On Election Day, polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and voters must use their assigned precinct.
