Constitutional Amendments: How Do They Poll?
State lawmakers have discussed potentially putting to the people five amendments to the state Constitution. Four enjoy broad support. One would likely pass or fail by the slimmest of margins if it were voted on today.
Here are the amendments we polled:
1. Reduce the maximum allowable income tax rate in North Carolina from seven percent to four percent.
2. Adopt term limits for North Carolina Supreme Court Justices limiting them to serving two, 12-year terms.
3. Require voters to provide photo identification before voting.
4. Repeal the literacy requirement as a requirement to vote.
5. Allow voters to elect members of the State Board of Education.
We’ll take each in turn.
Reduce the maximum allowable income tax rate to 4%
In 2018, by a wide 57%-42% margin, voters amended their Constitution to reduce the maximum allowable personal income tax rate from 10% to 7%. The tax rate itself currently sits at 4.75% and is scheduled to drop in the coming years to 3.99%.
Cutting the maximum allowable rate to 4% is wildly popular. 66% of voters support it and just 22% of voters oppose it.
The proposal has higher than two-to-one support across all parties:
Opponents of this amendment have argued in the past that the income tax rate ceiling, once dropped, will likely never increase again. But voters in 1936 did just that, amending the state Constitution to increase the maximum allowable income tax rate from 6% to 10%.
A well-funded campaign to oppose this amendment would likely meet the same fate as the 2018 campaign. At this time, North Carolinians support by a wide and likely durable margin a cut in the maximum allowable income tax rate.
Adopt term limits for N.C. Supreme Court justices
The only amendment more popular than the income tax rate cut is term limits for Supreme Court justices. Voters favor this policy by a 74%-14% margin.
Support is nearly identical across parties:
Right now, state Supreme Court justices can serve an unlimited number of eight-year terms. If the Constitutional amendment is adopted, justices could serve two twelve-year terms.
The state Supreme Court has an age limit for justices of 72 years old. The only sitting justices who would reach the 24-year mark before aging out are three Republicans: Phil Berger, Jr.; Richard Dietz; and Trey Allen.
Require voters to provide photo identification before voting
This is the song that doesn’t end.
In 2018, voters by a wide margin opted to amend their Constitution to require photo voter identification. So instructed by the people of the state, the legislature then implemented the least restrictive photo voter ID law in the country. It’s so permissive that voters can cast ballots without a photo ID.
Even so, state courts have bizarrely held up voter ID for years.
If this amendment were to be put to the people once again, it would again enjoy broad support. Voters support the policy by a 69%-29% margin, including a near 50-50 split among Democrats.
Repeal the literacy test
This is the only amendment that our poll shows may fail if put to the people, just as it did in 1970. Voters are within the margin of error on repealing the literacy test, with 40% in support and 41% opposed.
The test is a relic of an ugly and discriminatory period in state history. Added to the Constitution in 1899, the policy was finally rendered unenforceable by the Voting Rights Act in 1965.
If policymakers wish to be more assured of successful changes to the state Constitution’s voting-related text, they might consider pairing literacy test repeal with a popular measure like voter ID.
Allow voters to elect members of the State Board of Education.
Most people familiar with North Carolina’s education administration hierarchy would probably agree that it’s a mess.
A system that selects members of the State Board of Education by popular election, rather than gubernatorial appointment, has broad support at 77%-14%, with 49%+ margins among each party affiliation.
View the crosstabs for all of the amendment questions here.
