North Carolina voters will decide Tuesday on three proposed constitutional amendments in NC Amendments 2026. The measures would limit income tax rates, curb property tax increases and make voter identification rules harder to change.
One proposal would put a property-tax cap into the state Constitution, but it does not set the number itself. The legislation sending it to the ballot leaves the North Carolina General Assembly to write the limit later, if voters approve it.
North Carolina General Assembly vote
A rule in the state Constitution is harder to change than a law passed by the legislature. Laws need a majority of the state legislature’s approval, while overriding a governor’s veto takes 60%. Constitutional amendments need 60% of the legislature to sign off and at least 50% of voting citizens to pass or repeal.
That higher hurdle is part of why the proposals matter now. Supporters of the property tax amendment include Republican lawmakers, and the August Elon University poll found 72% of likely voters favored it, while 14% opposed it and 14% were unsure.
Tax Foundation and local taxes
The Tax Foundation ranks North Carolina’s property taxes lower than those in most other states, but the amendment would still tie future local revenue growth to inflation and population growth. The practical effect would be to force any future expansion in property-tax collections through the constitutional formula instead of ordinary legislation.
Supporters say lower income tax rates benefit residents and companies. Republican state lawmakers have spent years focused on lowering income tax rates, and the proposed income-tax change would move that policy into the Constitution instead of leaving it to routine legislative debate.
Voter ID changes in North Carolina
The third amendment would make it harder to change state rules on voter identification. Opponents of the voter-ID proposal say lawmakers should not have such high hurdles to clear to change election law, because the amendment would lock the rule into the Constitution and raise the bar for future changes.
For voters, the choice Tuesday is not just whether to approve three amendments. It is whether these tax and voter-ID rules stay flexible under ordinary law or become harder to revise under the Constitution’s higher threshold.
