3 ballot amendments would cost everyday North Carolinians dearly

Early voting has started, but North Carolina voters are hearing very little about three constitutional amendments tucked away at the end of the ballot. While the amendments are worded in a seemingly simple way, the three proposals are deceptive.

Carolina Federation, an organization I co-lead, have spoken face to face with tens of thousands of people in NC metro areas. Over 20,000 of them have pledged to vote against the amendments because they see how the measures would benefit the wealthy, giant corporations, and the power-hoarding majority in the NC legislature — at great cost to the resources, freedoms, and future choices of everyday North Carolinians.

This is a different story than most polls have told. Pollsters don’t engage voters about what’s at stake for them, or who wins and who loses with these proposals. Our organization takes the time to do just that and voters are responding.

Voter Guide: 2026 NC voter guide

“I want as many voters as possible to know that these amendments are praying on how we feel strapped and stressed about costs. It’s just not true that these amendments offer real relief. We should vote against them and demand real solutions around costs and taxes,” says Joseph Chadwick of the Forsyth Freedom Federation. “Our chapter is fighting for a targeted property tax relief program in Forsyth that would actually help the homeowners who are struggling. State lawmakers should create more programs like that, but instead they’re choosing to push amendments that give more handouts to the wealthy.”

Research from the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center and the North Carolina Housing Coalition adds data to people’s lived experiences. According to their research, the amendment to cap the personal income tax rate at 3.5% would block future state lawmakers from generating $17 billion in annual revenue from personal and corporate income taxes. That is enough money to raise North Carolina teacher pay and per pupil spending to the national average and fund 40% of the state’s documented school facilities needs, like HVAC updates.

The vaguely worded amendment to give the NC General Assembly the power to limit local government property tax revenue could further devastate cities, counties, and school districts across the state. Under a 2% levy limit scenario, Guilford County alone would lose $86 million in revenue each year. That equals the full salaries of more than 1,500 public school teachers. And that’s just one potential scenario in one county.

“There’s a real affordability and funding crisis, but these amendments aren’t a solution. They’re more like a scam to move more money to greedy corporations and the ultra-rich. Already, the politicians in charge have let corporations like Duke Energy increase prices and avoid what they owe our communities in taxes,” said Julia Springer of Durham for All. “Then they tell us they’ve got to cut Medicaid, or that there’s not enough money to hire more teachers, fix the HVAC in our kids’ schools, or provide childcare. The money’s there, but amendments like these let big corporations keep it as profit instead of paying taxes like the rest of us.”

Who could vote against a constitutional amendment limiting income tax rate to 3.5%?

Some Democrats proposed legislation last session — the Kids Over Corporations Act and Fair Share For Public Schools Act — to reverse the tax cuts that primarily benefit millionaires and profitable corporations in order to raise revenue for public schools. Instead of debating measures like this, the Republican majority, joined by a few Democrats who lost their primary elections this year, put the tax caps on the ballot. And it seems they’re still insistent that the corporate tax rate go all the way to zero by 2030.

All three amendments constrain rather than expand choice and freedom for everyday North Carolinians. The constitutional amendment on Voter ID would create another barrier to voting at a time when record numbers of North Carolinians across party lines are turning out to vote. It is the same power-hungry politicians in Raleigh who rigged the voting maps to protect their own seats who put this amendment on the ballot. North Carolinians deserve the freedom to elect or unelect people based on whether they are committed to serving all of us and whether they follow through on their commitments and responsibilities.

Across NC, increasing numbers of voters are pledging across race, party, and class to vote against all three amendments. Together, we can reject false solutions and demand that the people we elect deliver real relief to families, make the wealthy and profitable corporations pay what they owe, and make sure every eligible North Carolinian can vote.

Jenn Frye is the co-director of the Carolina Federation, an organization that brings people together across race and the rural-urban divide to build political and electoral power in their communities and across North Carolina. She lives in Durham.