(The Center Square) – Tax amendments tied to personal income and property, and a referendum to align North Carolina’s photo identification requirement in person with all ballots cast are before voters in the 2026 midterms.
Each of the trio was advanced by the Legislature, giving voters a voice in policy. According to Ballotpedia for this election cycle, seven states have 13 statewide ballot measures on property taxes; six states have nine statewide ballot measures related to income and wealth tax policy; and seven states have referenda on voter identification requirements.
One of the latter, in Oklahoma, was already approved in August during a primary runoff. Missouri voters in August defeated the referendum to require reductions in the individual income tax based on revenue growth until the tax is eliminated, prohibit its future reestablishment, and authorize certain sales and use tax changes.
North Carolina is the only state with referenda in all three policy areas. California and Colorado have two each, both related to income and wealth tax policy, and to voter identification. Oklahoma has two as well, related to property taxes and voter identification.
Since 1985, North Carolina’s 30 statewide ballot measures have had just five defeats.
In an Elon University Poll released two weeks ago, requiring photo identification for all forms of voting, including absentee mail-in ballots, drew a 63%-25% approval; changing the constitution to lower the allowable state personal income tax rate from 7% to 3.5% was favored 67%-18%; and allowing the General Assembly to limit increases in property taxes from local governments is favored 72%-14%.
North Carolina voters in 2018 endorsed presenting photo identification when voting in person. Litigation, led in part by then-Gov. Roy Cooper, led to implementation delayed until the 2023 municipal races.
The amendment would make the April 2023 ruling by the state Supreme Court constitutional. The state’s highest bench said photocopies of photo IDs were to go in with ballots mailed, or completion of an ID Exception Form.
The referenda are at the end of the ballot. For this one, the ballot asks voters to vote for or against, “Constitutional amendment to require all voters, not just those presenting to vote in person, to present photo identification before voting.”
The state’s individual income tax is a flat rate of 3.99% and scheduled to continue dropping to 3.49% in 2027 and 2.99% in 2028. The amendment puts a cap of 3.5% starting in 2027. Today the cap is 7%.
The ballot asks voters to vote for or against, “Constitutional amendment to keep the state income tax rate from being raised higher than three and one-half percent (3.5%).”
The property tax amendment does not set a floor or cap; rather, it says lawmakers are to pass laws limiting how much local governments can increase total property tax revenue from year to year. It does set a “levy limit” capping growth in total dollars. Exceptions could be granted by the lawmakers.
The ballot asks voters to vote for or against, “Constitutional amendment requiring limits on property tax increases by local governments.”
Absentee voting began on Sept. 4 with the mailing of ballots to the nearly 50,000 requesting them, opening a 61-day window to Nov. 3. Oct. 9 is the voter registration deadline.
Absentee requests do not require a reason; anyone can file with their respective counties. The deadline for an absentee ballot in the mail to be in a county election board office is when the polls close at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 3; the request deadline is 5 p.m. on Oct. 20.
Early in-person voting is Oct. 15-31, and same-day registration is permitted.
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