Laws governing ballot measures in North Carolina

Laws governing ballot measures in the U.S.

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Laws governing ballot measures in the U.S.

Changes to laws governing ballot measures

Types of ballot measures

Ballot measure policy topics

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This page provides an overview of resources addressing the laws and procedures that govern statewide and local ballot measures in North Carolina, including constitutional amendments, signature requirements, recall procedures, and campaign finance regulations.

Explore the links below for more information:

• Types of ballot measures in North Carolina
• Amending the North Carolina Constitution
• Laws governing local ballot measures in North Carolina
• Laws governing recall in North Carolina
• Laws governing state constitutional conventions in North Carolina
• Campaign finance requirements for North Carolina ballot measures
• Changes to laws governing ballot measures in North Carolina

Laws governing ballot measures in North Carolina

Types of ballot measures in North Carolina

• In North Carolina, citizens do not have the power to initiate ballot measures at the state level.

• In North Carolina, the state legislature can refer constitutional amendments, bond measures, and constitutional convention questions to the ballot.

Amending the North Carolina Constitution

• North Carolina became a state in 1789. The current state constitution was ratified in 1971.

• The North Carolina Constitution can be amended in two ways:
  • Legislatively referred constitutional amendment: The North Carolina State Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot with a 60% vote during one legislative session.
  • Convention-referred constitutional amendment: A state constitutional convention can vote to refer constitutional changes to the ballot.

• A simple majority vote (50% plus one) is required for voters to both approve constitutional amendments and convention questions.

Laws governing local ballot measures in North Carolina

• There is no mention of the powers of initiative and referendum in the North Carolina Constitution.

Laws governing recall in North Carolina

• North Carolina allows the recall of elected officials at the local level.

Laws governing state constitutional conventions in North Carolina

• According to Article XIII of the North Carolina Constitution, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote in each chamber of the legislature is required to send a constitutional convention question to voters.

• A simple majority vote by the electorate is required to both call the convention and approve any of its proposals.

Campaign finance requirements for North Carolina ballot measures

• PACs that support or oppose ballot measures in North Carolina must register and report campaign finance.

Changes to laws governing ballot measures in North Carolina

See also: Changes to laws governing ballot measures

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

See also: Changes in 2025 to laws governing ballot measures

The North Carolina State Legislature did not pass legislation concerning ballot measures in 2025.

See also: Changes in 2024 to laws governing ballot measures

The North Carolina State Legislature did not pass legislation concerning ballot measures in 2024.

See also: Changes in 2023 to laws governing ballot measures

• House Bill 259: The legislation required the questions to begin with, "Additional property taxes may be levied on property located in [name of unit of local government] in an amount sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on bonds if approved by the following ballot question." The legislation required additional information about taxes and bond interest costs.

HB 259 Vote	Senate			House
	Yes	No	NV	Yes	No	NV
Total	26	17	7	70	40	10
Democratic (D)	0	17	3	5	40	3
Republican (R)	26	0	4	65	0	7

See also: Changes in 2022 to laws governing ballot measures

The North Carolina State Legislature did not pass legislation concerning ballot measures in 2022.

See also: Changes in 2021 to laws governing ballot measures

The North Carolina State Legislature did not pass legislation concerning ballot measures in 2021.

See also: Changes in 2020 to laws governing ballot measures

The North Carolina State Legislature did not pass legislation concerning ballot measures in 2020.

See also: Changes in 2019 to laws governing ballot measures

The North Carolina State Legislature did not pass legislation concerning ballot measures in 2019.

See also: Changes in 2018 to laws governing ballot measures

• House Bill 3: The legislation eliminated the Constitutional Amendments Publication Commission's caption for a constitutional amendment featured on the ballot. Under HB 3, the caption for a constitutional amendment is Constitutional Amendment.

See also

Ballot Measures

Ballotpedia

Measures

• • State ballot measures
• • Local ballot measures
• • Analyses

Topics

• • State ballot measure topics
• • Local ballot measure topics

Law

• • Laws governing ballot measures
• • Changes to laws governing ballot measures
• • Types of ballot measures
• • Ballot measure policy topics

History

• • Historical Ballot Measures (HBM) Factbooks
• • History of ballot measures by topic

Campaigns

• • Campaign finance
• • Polls
• • Media editorials

Footnotes

Laws governing ballot measures in the United States

Laws governing ballot measures

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Changes to laws governing ballot measures

Types of ballot measures

Citizen-initiated ballot measures • Legislatively referred ballot measures • Automatically referred ballot measures • Commission-referred ballot measures • Convention-referred constitutional amendments

Ballot measure policy terms

Glossary of ballot measure policy terms

State ballot measures

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