North Carolina · November 3, 2026
Three amendments on your ballot, side by side
Each one would rewrite a line of the North Carolina Constitution. Here is the exact ballot wording, the constitution today next to what it would say, and what state law already does.
Key dates
When to vote
On the ballot
The exact wording you'll see
Each amendment appears with For and Against choices. This is the State Board of Elections' official list.
Photo ID for all voters
Article VI, Section 2(4)
Constitution today
"Voters offering to vote in person shall present photographic identification before voting."
If approved
"Voters shall present photographic identification before voting."
The constitution already requires photo ID to vote in person. The change removes "offering to vote in person," so the requirement covers every voter, including by mail. State law already asks mail-in voters to return a photocopy of their ID or an exception affidavit with their ballot.
A 3.5% ceiling on the state income tax
Article V, Section 2(6)
Constitution today
The rate "shall not in any case exceed seven percent."
If approved
The rate "shall not in any case exceed three and one-half percent."
The amendment sets a ceiling, not your rate. The legislature sets the rate in state law, and it has already scheduled cuts below the proposed ceiling. Hover or tap the chart.
Rates from S.L. 2026-41 §44.1 (signed July 7, 2026), not counting possible revenue-trigger reductions.
Limits on local property tax increases
Article V, Section 2(5)
Constitution today
No requirement to limit growth in local property tax collections.
If approved, adds
"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 amendment sets no number. It directs the legislature to pass limits later, with possible exceptions. And state law already caps local property tax rates: counties and cities may levy up to $1.50 per $100 of value for most purposes, with voter-approved levies and some purposes, such as debt service, outside the cap. The amendment would add limits on how fast collections can grow.
Mayor Pro Tem Terry Mahaffey's view: the legislature already has the power to limit property taxes, and uses it, so this amendment isn't needed to set limits. The real problem residents feel, he has written, is how revaluation shifts the tax burden.
"North Carolina does not need a symbolic property tax amendment. It needs one that solves the problem residents are actually facing."Terry Mahaffey, "North Carolina Is Debating the Wrong Property Tax Amendment," May 5, 2026
In Apex
Early voting downtown
Wake County's early voting sites include the John M. Brown Community Center, 53 Hunter St., Apex. Any Wake County voter can use any Wake early voting site.
| Days | Hours |
|---|---|
| Thu. Oct. 15 – Fri. Oct. 16 | 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. |
| Sat. Oct. 17 | 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. |
| Sun. Oct. 18 | 1 – 6 p.m. |
| Mon. Oct. 19 – Fri. Oct. 23 | 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. |
| Sat. Oct. 24 | 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. |
| Sun. Oct. 25 | 1 – 6 p.m. |
| Mon. Oct. 26 – Fri. Oct. 30 | 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. |
| Sat. Oct. 31 | 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. |
Bottom line
Read the text, not the ads
Amendment 2 sets a ceiling, not your rate. Amendment 3 sets no number; the limits would come in a future law. Check any claim you see against the official text linked on this page.
See your sample ballot and voting site with the NCSBE voter search.
Info current as of October 4, 2026. This page explains the official text; it is not legal advice.
Discussion
Comments