RALEIGH — The 2018 ballot was loaded with constitutional amendments. Six, to be exact. Four will become part of the state constitution, but the General Assembly must pass enabling legislation for one, “Requires a photo ID to vote in person.” It passed by a 55 percent-45 percent vote.
The voter ID amendment is a workaround for a 2013 law struck down in court for violating the rights of minority voters. The statute defined acceptable identification as a state driver’s license, a state-issued ID card, a military ID, or a U.S. passport. Under the guidance of this amendment, the legislature will make laws governing which forms of identification voters can present at polling places before they cast ballots.
The General Assembly will return Nov. 27 to pass legislation implementing the amendment, and probably taking up other business. While more than 30 states have some form of voter ID requirement, including three of North Carolina’s neighbors, courts recently have given tougher scrutiny to states which have implemented photo ID mandates.
Lawmakers will have to decide which forms of identification the state will accept when registered voters cast ballots — and if the new law will allow voters who don’t have driver’s licenses (the ID most widely accepted) to get a state-approved ID at no cost, and where to obtain it.
Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, who chairs the House Rules Committee, said in June if the amendment passed, the enabling legislation would address concerns brought up by opponents of the measure. Groups such as the NAACP have said publicly they intend to protest and challenge legislative action.
The 2018 statewide ballot had five other amendments. Here’s a rundown of what else we voted for, what we voted against, and what it all means now that election day is past.
• Right to Hunt and Fish — Approved, 57 percent-43 percent
This amendment creates a constitutional right to hunt and fish. It subjects the right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife to laws that preserve wildlife conservation and management. It also classifies hunting and fishing as a means of managing and controlling North Carolina’s wildlife.
• Marsy’s Law — Approved, 62 percent-38 percent
This amendment expands the constitutional rights of crime victims. It boosts and expands multiple rights, including the right to receive timely notice of court proceedings, the right to be present at pleas, sentencing, and parole hearings, and the right to present views and concerns to the governor or agency taking an action that could release the accused. The measure was part of an expensive, national campaign to enact similar amendments in other states.
• Income Tax Cap Amendment — Approved, 57 percent-43 percent
This amendment lowers the constitutional cap on income tax from 10 percent to seven percent. The state’s current personal income tax rate is 5.499 percent, and will soon drop to 5.25 percent.
• Judicial Selection for Midterm Vacancies — Defeated, 33 percent-67 percent
The amendment would have created a nine-person commission, members of which would have been chosen by state legislators, to select potential judicial appointees for vacant seats between elections. The amendment would’ve enabled lawmakers to have significantly more sway over the judicial branch.
• Bipartisan Elections Board — Defeated, 38 percent-62 percent
This measure would have created an eight-member Bipartisan State Board of Ethics and Elections Enforcement, the group that oversees ethics and election laws, with four Democratic and four Republican members.
The legislature also may need to revisit the structure of the elections board in its post-Thanksgiving session. The current version of the board was ruled unconstitutional in mid-October by a three-judge Superior Court panel. But the panel delayed enforcement of its order to allow the current election results to be certified.
The court said the current board will be dissolved Dec. 3.