Three Amendments on Your Ballot
A Balanced, Non-Partisan Guide to the Three Proposed Amendments to the North Carolina Constitution
North Carolina General Election - Tuesday, November 3, 2026
This guide makes no endorsement. Each amendment is decided separately, by a simple majority of voters who vote on it. You can vote FOR one and AGAINST another. Read the ballot wording, the immediate effect, and both sides - then decide for yourself.
WHY "CONSTITUTIONAL" MATTERS
An ordinary law can be changed by a future General Assembly. A provision in the state constitution cannot. Changing or repealing it again requires a three-fifths (60%) vote in the legislature plus another statewide vote. That permanence is central to the debate on all three measures: supporters value locking in a rule voters approve; critics ask whether a policy that may need adjusting belongs in the constitution at all.
KEY DATES FOR 2026
Fri, Oct. 9 - Voter registration deadline, 5 p.m.
Thu, Oct. 15 - Sat, Oct. 31 - Early in-person voting, including same-day registration. Early voting ends at 3 p.m. on Oct. 31.
Tue, Oct. 20 - Deadline to request an absentee (mail) ballot, 5 p.m.
Tue, Nov. 3 - Election Day. Polls 6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. A mail ballot must reach your county board of elections by 7:30 p.m. that day.
Dates as listed by the NC State Board of Elections and reported for the November 2026 election. Confirm your own sample ballot, polling place, and deadlines with your county board.
AT A GLANCE - THREE QUESTIONS, THREE DIFFERENT KINDS OF CHANGE
Two common points of confusion run through this ballot. First, only one amendment names a percentage - the income tax cap. Second, none of the three changes your tax bill or your voting routine overnight on its own; read the "immediate effect" note for each one.
1. Photo ID for all voters - Senate Bill 921
Ballot wording: "Constitutional amendment to require all voters, not just those presenting to vote in person, to present photo identification before voting."
In one line: Extends the constitution's photo ID rule from in-person voting to every method, including by mail.
2. Income tax cap - Senate Bill 1080
Ballot wording: "Constitutional amendment to keep the State income tax rate from being raised higher than three and one-half percent (3.5%)."
In one line: Lowers the constitutional ceiling from 7% to 3.5%. A ceiling, not the rate itself.
3. Property tax levy limit - House Bill 1089
Ballot wording: "Constitutional amendment requiring limits on property tax increases by local governments."
In one line: Requires the legislature to enact limits on growth in total local property tax collections. Sets no percentage.
A NOTE ON WHO PLACED THESE ON THE BALLOT
The General Assembly placed all three amendments on the ballot after the constitutionally required three-fifths vote in each chamber. Reporting on those votes describes them as largely along party lines, with Republicans mostly in support and Democrats mostly opposed. Sponsorship and vote counts do not decide how any individual voter should vote - each measure stands or falls on its own text and effects.
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AMENDMENT 1 - SENATE BILL 921
Photo Identification for All Voters, Including by Mail
On the ballot: "Constitutional amendment to require all voters, not just those presenting to vote in person, to present photo identification before voting."
WHAT IS TRUE TODAY
The constitution today says: "Voters offering to vote in person shall present photographic identification before voting." If approved, it would say: "Voters shall present photographic identification before voting." Removing "offering to vote in person" is the whole change - the rule would cover every voter, however they vote.
State law already requires a mail voter to return a photocopy of an acceptable photo ID in the clear sleeve of the ballot envelope, or a completed Photo ID Exception Form. This amendment would put that broader requirement in the constitution, with the legislature still writing the detailed laws on acceptable ID and exceptions.
A FOR vote means you support amending the constitution so photo ID is required of all voters, not only in-person voters.
An AGAINST vote means you keep the constitution as it is - photo ID required in person - while the existing state law on mail-ballot ID remains in place unless lawmakers change it.
SUPPORTERS ARGUE
- One standard for everyone: the same identity rule should apply however a ballot is cast.
- Confidence and safeguard: a photo ID copy adds a check that the ballot came from the voter it was issued to.
- Permanence: a constitutional rule cannot be quietly removed by a future legislature or court fight over a statute.
- Exceptions remain possible: the amendment allows laws governing the requirement, which may include exceptions.
CRITICS ARGUE
- It is already the law: mail voters already send ID or an exception form, so a constitutional change is unnecessary.
- Barriers for some voters: copying an ID can be harder for military, student, rural, and older voters, and for voters without easy access to a copier.
- Less flexibility: writing the rule into the constitution makes it harder to protect or adjust today's exception process later.
- Extra steps, extra rejections: each added requirement is another reason an otherwise valid ballot can be set aside.
HOW A MAIL BALLOT IS VERIFIED TODAY
Identity is checked in layers, not by the ID alone: (1) to request a ballot, a voter gives date of birth plus a driver license / state ID number or the last four digits of their Social Security number, and signs the request; (2) the voter marks the ballot in the presence of two adult witnesses or a notary - who see that the voter marked it, not how - then signs the envelope, and the witnesses sign with their addresses; (3) the ID photocopy or exception form travels in the envelope's clear sleeve; (4) the county board checks the packet on return, and voters can track status through BallotTrax. Ballots missing the required signatures or ID/exception are not counted.
Immediate effect: limited. Because state law already requires ID or an exception form from mail voters, most voters would notice no new step the day after the election. The practical change is durability - the requirement would survive a future change in state law.
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AMENDMENT 2 - SENATE BILL 1080
A 3.5% Ceiling on the State Income Tax
On the ballot: "Constitutional amendment to keep the State income tax rate from being raised higher than three and one-half percent (3.5%)."
WHAT IS TRUE TODAY
The constitution today caps the state income tax rate at 7% - a ceiling voters lowered from 10% in 2018. The actual flat individual rate is set by ordinary law, not by this amendment: it is 3.99% in 2026 and is already scheduled under current law to fall to 3.49% in 2027 and lower in later years (2.99% in 2028 in the enacted schedule, with further trigger-based cuts possible). If approved, the 3.5% ceiling would apply to tax years beginning January 1, 2027.
This is the only one of the three amendments that restricts a tax to a specific percentage: 3.5%. It is a maximum, not a promise of what anyone will pay, and it concerns the state income tax - it does not by itself set sales, corporate, or property taxes.
A FOR vote means you support lowering the constitutional maximum from 7% to 3.5%, so no future legislature could raise the rate above 3.5% without another constitutional amendment approved by voters.
An AGAINST vote means the ceiling stays at 7%. The scheduled statutory rate cuts still happen; lawmakers keep the option to set a rate anywhere up to 7% by ordinary law.
SUPPORTERS ARGUE
- Taxpayer protection: voters, not just legislators, should have to approve any move back to higher income taxes.
- Predictability and competitiveness: a low, durable ceiling helps families and businesses plan, and supporters credit more than a decade of rate cuts for North Carolina's strong rankings as a place to do business.
- It locks in progress: the rate is already heading below 3.5%, so the amendment preserves that direction.
- Discipline: a cap encourages the state to live within a known revenue limit and control spending growth.
CRITICS ARGUE
- No immediate tax cut: the amendment does not lower this year's bill; the rate is already scheduled to fall below the cap without it.
- Less room in a downturn or disaster: a future legislature facing a recession, hurricane recovery, or rising costs could not raise income tax above 3.5% even temporarily, without a statewide vote.
- Schools and services: income tax provides about half of the state General Fund; critics, including the governor and education groups, warn a hard ceiling could force cuts or deficits over time.
- Shift, not saving: if income tax is capped, pressure may move to sales taxes, fees, or local taxes, which critics say fall more heavily on lower-income households. A flat-rate cap also benefits higher earners most in dollar terms, critics add.
Immediate effect: a future ceiling, not a cut. Your 2026 rate stays 3.99% either way, and the drop to 3.49% in 2027 is already in law. What changes is the highest rate any future legislature may choose - 3.5% instead of 7%.
Question to consider: Do you want today's low-rate direction made permanent, or do you want future elected officials - who will face circumstances no one can foresee - to keep the wider range the constitution allows today?
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AMENDMENT 3 - HOUSE BILL 1089
Limits on Local Property Tax Increases - With No Percentage in the Text
On the ballot: "Constitutional amendment requiring limits on property tax increases by local governments."
WHAT IS TRUE TODAY - AND THE DIRECT ANSWER ON A PERCENTAGE
No, this amendment does not restrict property taxes to a specific percentage. It sets no cap, rate, or formula. If approved, the constitution would add one sentence: "The General Assembly shall enact general laws limiting the amount by which the levy of taxes on property may increase, which may include exceptions." The actual limit - and any exceptions for growth, disasters, debt, or voter-approved levies - would be written later, in ordinary legislation.
A levy limit is about total dollars collected by a county or city, not the rate and not any one bill: if collections hit a future limit, rates adjust, but an individual bill could still rise if that property's value rose faster than others. A rate cap already exists in state law - generally $1.50 per $100 of value for most purposes (average county rate in fiscal 2025-26: about $0.58 per $100). This amendment would add a limit on how fast collections grow, on top of that rate cap.
A FOR vote means you support requiring the legislature to enact levy limits. You are voting for the requirement - the specific limit will be decided afterward by lawmakers.
An AGAINST vote means no constitutional requirement is added. Local boards keep setting levies under current law, and the legislature remains free - as it is today - to pass levy limits by ordinary law if it chooses.
SUPPORTERS ARGUE
- Relief from rising bills: revaluations have pushed collections up sharply; supporters cite research that large-county collections outpaced inflation plus population growth by billions over a decade.
- Predictability: homeowners and businesses could plan around a known limit on levy growth instead of open-ended increases.
- Spending discipline: a limit forces local governments to justify growth and prioritize.
- Voter voice: an Elon University poll found about 72% support for limiting property tax increases; supporters say voters should set that direction in the constitution.
CRITICS ARGUE
- Voting without the number: voters cannot judge a limit they cannot see; the formula and exceptions will be chosen after the vote, and a constitutional mandate is hard to undo if the formula proves too tight.
- Less local control: decisions now made by local boards would be bounded from Raleigh, shifting authority to the state.
- Schools and core services: property tax is the main local revenue source - funding schools (more than $4 billion statewide), fire, police, roads, and libraries. Leaders warn a tight limit could squeeze those services, especially in fast-growing or rural counties.
- Small saving, large trade-off - as modeled: one analysis of a hypothetical 2% levy limit estimated counties would have lost about $587.8 million, for an average saving of about $84 per homeowner per year. That illustrates scale only; it is not a prediction, because no limit has been set.
- Emergencies and growth: a rigid limit could leave a community short after a disaster or during rapid growth, or push costs into fees.
Immediate effect: none on your next bill. Everything depends on the follow-up law - its percentage, formula, and exceptions will determine the actual impact.
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BEFORE YOU VOTE
MAIL VOTING: BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS
Benefits voters cite:
- Vote from home, on your own schedule - helpful for work, travel, illness, disability, caregiving, and voters living away from home.
- Time to study a long ballot and research measures like these before marking choices.
- No line, no trip to a polling place, and tracking through BallotTrax.
Drawbacks voters cite:
- More steps, and more ways to spoil a ballot: witnesses, signatures, sealed envelopes, ID copy, and a hard 7:30 p.m. Election Day arrival deadline - a postmark is not enough.
- No poll worker at hand to catch a mistake, though county boards notify voters of deficiencies they can cure.
- Ballots are marked outside a polling place, so voters should mark privately and free of pressure from anyone else.
If you request a mail ballot and change your mind, you may still vote in person if you have not returned it. Once a mail ballot is returned, it cannot be canceled or changed.
CHECKLIST
- Confirm your registration and see your exact sample ballot through the NC State Board of Elections voter search.
- Decide each amendment separately. FOR and AGAINST are printed beside each one - a vote on one does not affect the others.
- If voting by mail: request by 5 p.m. on Oct. 20, mark in front of two witnesses or a notary, sign, include the ID photocopy or exception form, seal as instructed, and return early - by mail, or in person to your county board office or an early voting site in your county (not an Election Day polling place).
- Share this guide freely. It is meant to be circulated.
SOURCES - CHECK THE TEXT YOURSELF
Ballot wording and constitutional text: NC State Board of Elections list of 2026 statewide referenda, as reproduced in EdNC, "What to know about the tax amendments on NC ballot in 2026" (Oct. 15, 2026) - https://www.ednc.org/10-15-2026-what-educators-think-about-the-nc-constitutional-amendments-on-the-ballot/ and Peak News Network, "Three Amendments on Your Ballot, Side by Side" (Sept. 29, updated Oct. 4, 2026) - https://data.peaknewsnetwork.org/articles/ballot-amendments-2026/
Bills: Senate Bill 921 (photo ID), Senate Bill 1080 (income tax cap), House Bill 1089 (property tax levy limit), NC General Assembly - www.ncleg.gov
Side-by-side voter guides, supporter and opponent arguments: League of Women Voters of North Carolina, "Three Constitutional Amendments on North Carolina's 2026 Ballot" - https://my.lwv.org/north-carolina-state/action-alert/three-constitutional-amendments-north-carolinas-2026-ballot
Tax background and legislative history: Ballotpedia News (May 22 and June 1, 2026) - https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/06/01/north-carolina-voters-to-decide-on-two-measures-on-property-and-income-tax-limits-in-november/
Mail-ballot verification: National Conference of State Legislatures, Table 14, How States Verify Voted Absentee/Mail Ballots - https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/table-14-how-states-verify-voted-absentee-mail-ballots ; NC State Board of Elections, Vote by Mail - ncsbe.gov/voting/vote-mail
Modeling note: NC Housing Coalition analysis of a hypothetical 2% levy limit, as reported in fall 2026 coverage. Polling: Elon University poll, September 2026, as reported by EdNC.
About this guide: Prepared October 23, 2026, for private circulation to voters. It summarizes the official ballot language and published arguments from supporters and critics in balanced, neutral terms and offers no recommendation. Election rules can change - confirm deadlines and procedures with the NC State Board of Elections or your county board of elections before voting.