Constitutional amendments on the North Carolina ballot this fall have sparked debate among state and local candidates. But aside from the potential impacts of the proposals, the discussion had WFDD’s Amy Diaz wondering how often North Carolina amends its constitution — and why?
For this edition of Carolina Curious, Diaz spoke with Wake Forest University Politics Professor John Dinan.
Interview Highlights
On the difference between the state constitution and laws:
"All 50 states have their own constitutions, and those are the foundational documents of the state. Just like the U.S. Constitution is the foundational document of the federal government, those are supreme over any state laws that might be passed. So the legislature passes laws, but the people have to approve constitutional amendments. It takes three fifths of the members of the House and three fifths of members of the Senate to approve putting an amendment on the ballot. That ballot then has to be approved by a majority of the voters."
On how often NC amends its constitution compared to others:
"The U.S. Constitution is rarely amended. Every single state constitution is amended more frequently. In fact, in a state such as Texas, it is not unusual for sometimes voters to see 15 amendments on the ballot in any given year. On the other end of the spectrum, you might see some states such as Vermont or Indiana, where voters might only see an amendment on the ballot every four, six, or eight years. North Carolina is in the broad middle of the spectrum. North Carolina’s had several constitutions, but the most recent one was approved in 1971. Fifty-two times amendments have been put forward to the voters to change that constitution. Voters have approved 42 of them."
On the three amendments on the ballot:
"North Carolina, for a long time, said the maximum income tax rate is 10%. Eight years ago, an amendment was put on the ballot said let's lower that maximum cap down to 7% and that's where it stands now. What's coming before the voters this year is, 'Let's lower that maximum cap still another time to 3.5%.' ... The other tax-related measure directs the legislature to impose a limit on how much property taxes can be increased by localities on an annual basis. It does not say what that limit should be. It does not say exactly what the possible exceptions would be. ... And then the final amendment deals with voter ID for voters voting by mail through absentee. And here's the situation right now: By statute law in North Carolina, voters are required, if they're voting absentee, to attach a copy of a photo ID to their mail-in ballot. This amendment would entrench in the state constitution this legal requirement and therefore try to insulate it against a future legal challenge in state court."
On why lawmakers go the constitutional amendment route:
"If you have a belief that something is an important policy commitment of some kind, and you see a risk that some future legislature might not share your same commitment to that policy goal. You want to entrench that policy in the constitution to make it more difficult for some future legislature to change that commitment. It's not saying it's impossible. You're going to require them to go through more hurdles and hoops to do so."