North Carolina Legislative Appointments to Elections Board Amendment (2018)

Elections in North Carolina, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 12
• Early voting: Oct. 17 - Nov. 3
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6

• Online registration: No
• Same-day registration: No
• Voter ID: No
• Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

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North Carolina Elections Board Amendment
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic State legislatures measures
Status d Defeated
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature
List of North Carolina measuresNorth Carolina Income Tax CapNorth Carolina Judicial SelectionNorth Carolina Appointments to Elections BoardNorth Carolina Marsy's LawNorth Carolina Right to Hunt and FishNorth Carolina Voter IDSubmit

The North Carolina Legislative Appointments to Elections Board Amendment was on the ballot in North Carolina as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported this amendment to remove the governor's power to make appointments to the Bipartisan State Board of Ethics and Elections Enforcement, meaning legislative leaders would make all eight appointments to the board.

A "no" vote opposed this amendment to remove the governor's power to make appointments to the Bipartisan State Board of Ethics and Elections Enforcement.

Election results

North Carolina Elections Board Amendment
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		1,371,446	38.40%
No		2,199,787	61.60%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What changes would the measure have made to the North Carolina Constitution?

The ballot measure would have made the North Carolina State Legislature responsible for appointing commissioners to the eight-member Bipartisan State Board of Ethics and Elections Enforcement, which administers ethics and election laws. The state Senate President Pro Tempore would have selected four commissioners for the Bipartisan State Board of Ethics and Elections Enforcement from lists of candidates from the chamber's majority leader and minority leader. The state House Speaker would have selected four commissioners from lists of candidates from the chamber's majority leader and minority leader. The measure would have required that no more than four commission members be registered with a single political party. As of 2018, the Bipartisan State Board of Ethics and Elections Enforcement had nine members, with the governor appointing eight members from lists provided by legislative leaders and one unaffiliated member.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title would be as follows:

“

[   ] For [   ] Against Constitutional amendment to establish an eight-member Bipartisan Board of Ethics and Elections Enforcement in the Constitution to administer ethics and elections law.

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary was as follows:

“ Party Leaders in Legislature to Control Ethics and Elections Board Appointments; Eliminate Nonpartisan Representation on Board Today, North Carolina has a 9-member Bipartisan Board of Ethics and Elections to administer ethics and elections law. The Governor appoints 8 of 9 members of this board from nominees provided by the 2 largest political parties. The Governor appoints the 9th member, who is not a member of a political party, from nominations provided by the other 8 members. The Legislature passed a law in 2017 establishing an 8-member board to administer elections, ethics, and lobbying laws. The North Carolina Supreme Court struck that law down as unconstitutional because it took executive authority from the Governor. The 2017 law also lacked representation of unaffiliated voters. This proposed amendment would overturn that Supreme Court decision. It would reduce the current board from 9 members to 8 by removing the only member who represents unaffiliated voters. If the amendment passes, majority and minority political party leaders in the Legislature would nominate the potential members of the board. There is an argument that nominated members could include members of the Legislature itself. The Governor then would have to choose the 8 members from the finalists the legislative leaders selected. This process would likely create a board of 4 Democrats and 4 Republicans. If the amendment passes, there would be no 9th nonpartisan member. Removing the 9th board member may result in a 4-4 partisan deadlock vote. Under current law, a tie on this board could drastically restrict early voting opportunities. The board’s responsibilities would include enforcing ethics and elections laws, which includes lobbying, campaign finance, and early voting, among other things. So, the board would oversee the legislative leaders and the Governor who picked them. If this Amendment passes, it would be only the 2nd board authorized in our constitution. The other is the State Board of Education. ”

Constitutional changes

See also: North Carolina Constitution

The ballot measure would have added a Section 11 to Article IV of the North Carolina Constitution. The following text would have been added:

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

Article VI

Sec. 11. Bipartisan State Board of Ethics and Elections Enforcement.

(1) The Bipartisan State Board of Ethics and Elections Enforcement shall be established to administer ethics and election laws, as prescribed by general law. The Bipartisan State Board of Ethics and Elections Enforcement shall be located within the Executive Branch for administrative purposes only but shall exercise all of its powers independently of the Executive Branch.

(2) The Bipartisan State Board of Ethics and Elections Enforcement shall consist of eight members, each serving a term of four years, who shall be qualified voters of this State. Of the total membership, no more than four members may be registered with the same political affiliation, if defined by general law. Appointments shall be made as follows:

(a) Four members by the General Assembly, upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, from nominees submitted to the President Pro Tempore by the majority leader and minority leader of the Senate, as prescribed by general law. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall not recommend more than two nominees from each leader.

(b) Four members by the General Assembly, upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, from nominees submitted to the Speaker of the House by the majority leader and minority leader of the House of Representatives, as prescribed by general law. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall not recommend more than two nominees from each leader.

(3) The General Assembly shall enact general laws governing how appointments shall be made if the Governor fails to appoint a member within 10 days of receiving recommendations as required by this section.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2018

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The legislature and the NC Constitutional Amendments Publication Commission wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 19.5, and the FRE is -4. The word count for the ballot title is 23, and the estimated reading time is 6 seconds. The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 9, and the FRE is 42. The word count for the ballot summary is 300, and the estimated reading time is 1 minute and 20 seconds. In 2018, for the 167 statewide measures on the ballot, the average ballot title or question was written at a level appropriate for those with between 19 and 20 years of U.S. formal education (graduate school-level of education), according to the FKGL formula. Read Ballotpedia's entire 2018 ballot language readability report here.

Support

Arguments

• Rep. Tim Moore (R-11), the Speaker of the House, said, "The elections and ethics oversight process should not be partisan and this constitutional amendment protects the board's impartiality in the strongest possible language."
• Rep. David Lewis (R-53), who voted to refer the amendment, stated, "The Cooper v. Berger decision and continuing litigation centers mainly around both of these questions, so we’re trying to answer them. We think it will give the people the opportunity to vote on their constitution, which should provide clarity and make these lawsuits go away..."

Opposition

Opponents

Officials

• Gov. Roy Cooper (D)
• Rep. Marcia Morey (D-30)

Former officials

• Gov. Pat McCrory (R)
• Gov. Beverly Perdue (D)
• Gov. Mike Easley (D)
• Gov. Jim Hunt (D)
• Gov. Jim Martin (R)

Parties

• North Carolina Democratic Party

Arguments

• Ford Porter, spokesman for Gov. Roy Cooper (D), stated, "Legislative Republicans are fundamentally rewriting the constitution to exclude all North Carolinians but themselves from making decisions about what is in the best interest of the state. This breathtaking amendment would disrupt the balance of power and destroy careful checks and balances of government, giving Republicans exclusive control over how you can vote, the cost of your energy bill, and the quality of your drinking water."
• Wayne Goodwin, chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party, said, "Extremely often, they voice their concerns about alleged lawmaking by the executive and judicial branches. But here their own branch of government, led by Republicans, is attempting to strip away the duties of the executive branch solely because of the governor's political affiliation. ... Republican leaders continue to create fictitious problems with the North Carolina State Board of Elections and, in turn, create real problems. This proposal is yet another attempt by the Republican General Assembly to rig our election laws to favor the political party that controls the legislative branch."
• Rep. Marcia Morey (D-30) said, "If passed, we can expect cuts to early voting, restrictions on voter registration, and minimal enforcement of ethics laws. There will also be gridlock: the amendment calls for eight members – half Republican and half Democrat – and eliminates a role for an independent or third-party member."

Campaign finance

Total campaign contributions:
Support:	$0.00
Opposition:	$9,266,902.46

See also: Campaign finance requirements for North Carolina ballot measures

There was no ballot measure committee registered in support of the measure.

By the People and Stop Deceptive Amendments were registered in opposition to the measure, as well as each of the other five amendments on the ballot in North Carolina. Therefore, the committees were raising and spending funds on each of the measures. Together, the committees had raised $9.27 million and expended $9.17 million.

Opposition

Committees in opposition to the Legislative Appointments to Elections Board Amendment Opposing committees Cash contributions In-kind services Cash expenditures By the People $1,100,342.25 $327,978.21 $1,092,925.74 Stop Deceptive Amendments $7,819,291.00 $19,291.00 $7,731,669.00 Total $8,919,633.25 $347,269.21 $8,824,594.74

Totals in opposition Total raised: $9,266,902.46 Total spent: $9,171,863.95

Donors

The following were the top six donors who contributed to the opposition committees:

Donor	Cash	In-kind	Total
Sixteen Thirty Fund	$3,500,000.00	$0.00	$3,500,000.00
State Engagement Fund	$1,650,000.00	$3,680.25	$1,650,000.00
NC Citizen’s For Protecting Our Schools	$775,000.00	$0.00	$775,000.00
America Votes	$750,000.00	$9,549	$759,549.00
Open Society Policy Center, Inc.	$500,000.00	$0.00	$500,000.00
National Education Association	$500,000.00	$0.00	$500,000.00

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Polls

See also: 2018 ballot measure polls

North Carolina Legislative Appointments to Elections Board Amendment (2018)
Poll	Support	Oppose	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
SurveyUSA October 2, 2018 - October 8, 2018	50.0%	23.0%	28.0%	+/-4.8	561
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Bipartisan State Board of Ethics and Elections Enforcement

In 2017, the General Assembly of North Carolina passed a bill, Senate Bill 68 (SB 68), to merge the State Board of Elections, State Ethics Commission, and the Secretary of State's Lobbying Compliance Division, resulting in the Bipartisan State Board of Ethics and Elections Enforcement. SB 68 would have made the ethics and elections board a nine-member board. The North Carolina Supreme Court issued an opinion that SB 68 violated the constitution, not giving the governor enough control over the board. The state Legislature, in response, passed House Bill 90 (HB 90), creating a ninth position on the state board.

SB 68 was passed along partisan lines in April 2017. Gov. Cooper (D) vetoed SB 68, saying that he believed the changes were unconstitutional. On April 24, both chambers of the state legislature voted to override Gov. Cooper's vetoes. HB 90 was passed during the 2018 legislative session. Gov. Cooper allowed SB 90 to go into effect without his signature on March 16, 2018.

The process for the appointment of the board's nine members, as of 2018, was as follows:

• Chairpersons of the two political parties with the highest number of registered voters—Republicans and Democrats as of 2018—present a list of six potential nominees to the governor.
• The governor selects four of the candidates from each party's list to serve on the board.
• The eight members present a list of two potential nominees, who are unaffiliated with the two major parties, to the governor.
• The governor selects one of the candidates from unaffiliated list to serve on the board.
• The board's position of chairperson rotates between the two major political parties every four years.

Before the creation of the Bipartisan State Board of Ethics and Elections Enforcement, the state Board of Elections had five members, including three from the governor's party and two from the other major party.

Conflict between Gov. Cooper and state General Assembly

See also: Conflicts between Gov. Roy Cooper and the General Assembly of North Carolina

North Carolina Legislative Conflicts

2016 North Carolina election

Governor of North Carolina

General Assembly of North Carolina

State Senate • State House

North Carolina Supreme Court

North Carolina Court of Appeals

2018 constitutional amendments

Since the 2016 election, North Carolina's executive and legislative branches have been in an almost constant state of conflict. The Republican-controlled General Assembly of North Carolina has passed a series of bills that Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has argued were intended to undermine his authority as governor. Republicans, meanwhile, insist that the legislation is restoring power to the legislature that was previously taken away by earlier Democratic administrations. This back-and-forth between Cooper and the legislature has resulted in a series of vetoes, veto overrides, and lawsuits, some of which predate Cooper's swearing-in on January 1, 2017. The Republican supermajorities in each chamber of the legislature allow Republicans to pass legislation and override gubernatorial vetoes with little intervention by Democrats.

In 1996, North Carolina became the last state in the country to grant veto power to the governor. As of March 2019, North Carolina governors had vetoed 63 bills since 1997. Thirty-nine of those bills were overridden by the legislature. In the 2017-2018 legislative session, the Republican-controlled legislature used its veto-proof majority to override 23 of the 28 vetoes issued by Gov. Cooper. That is the most that the North Carolina legislature has ever overridden in a legislative session.

In 2018, voters in North Carolina decided six constitutional amendments—the most on the ballot in a single year since 1982. Two of the constitutional amendments—the Legislative Appointments to Elections Board and Commissions Amendment and Judicial Selection for Midterm Vacancies Amendment—represent a conflict between the executive and legislative branches over powers to appoint judges and state commission members. An additional two constitutional amendments—Voter ID Amendment and Income Tax Cap Amendment—represent a broader conflict between Democrats and Republicans in North Carolina.

Timeline

The following timeline outlines how 2018's constitutional amendments were involved in the conflict between Gov. Roy Cooper and the General Assembly of North Carolina.

Passage of constitutional amendments

• June 27, 2018: The General Assembly of North Carolina referred the Legislative Appointments to Elections Board and Commissions Amendment to the ballot for the election on November 6, 2018. More than 99 percent (106/107) of legislative Republicans supported the amendment. One legislative Democrat supported the amendment.

• June 28, 2018: The General Assembly of North Carolina referred the Judicial Selection for Midterm Vacancies Amendment to the ballot for the election on November 6, 2018. Two Republicans voted against the amendment, meaning 106 of 108 non-absent Republicans voted for the amendment. No Democrats supported the amendment.

• July 10, 2018: Gov. Roy Cooper (D) said the Legislative Appointments to Elections Board and Commissions Amendment and Judicial Selection for Midterm Vacancies Amendment, along with the Voter ID Amendment and Income Tax Cap Amendment, were bad for North Carolina.

Original constitutional amendments in the conflict between North Carolina Gov. Cooper and state legislature
Measure	Description	Republicans	Democrats	Gov. Cooper
Midterm Judicial Vacancies Amendment	remove the governor's power to fill judicial vacancies and, instead, require a commission to develop a list of candidates, legislators to narrow the list down to two candidates, and the governor selecting the final nominee.	• Total: 106/107 (99.1%) • Senate: 33/33 • House: 73/74	• Total: 1/59 (1.7%) • Senate: 1/14 • House: 0/44
Legislative Appointments to State Boards Amendment	remove the governor's power to make appointments to the elections and ethics board, meaning legislative leaders would make all eight appointments to the board, and provide that the legislature controls the powers, duties, appointments, and terms of office for state boards and commissions	• Total: 106/108 (98.2%) • Senate: 32/33 • House: 74/75	• Total: 0/56 (0.0%) • Senate: 0/13 • House: 0/43

Passage of legislation on ballot captions

• July 21, 2018: Rep. David Lewis (R-53) wrote a letter to House Speaker Tim Moore (R-111) asking for a special session to address the Constitutional Amendments Publication Commission's powers and have the legislature wrote the ballot measures' captions.
  • The Constitutional Amendments Publication Commission, which includes two Democrats—Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Attorney General Josh Stein—and one Republican—legislative services officer Paul Coble—is responsible for preparing a short caption reflecting the contents for each constitutional amendment using simple and common language, according to state law passed in 2016. The Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement spokesperson, Patrick Gannon, said ballots will include "the short caption provided by the Constitutional Amendments Publication Commission, as well as the ‘For’ or ‘Against’ language included in the legislation approving the amendments for the ballots."
  • Lewis wrote, "It appears that the commission may be falling to outside political pressure, contemplating politicizing the title-crafting process, including using long sentences or negative language in order to hurt the amendments' chances of passing."
  • Secretary of State Marshall responded to Lewis' letter asking for a special session, saying, "I can speak for myself, I have had no, none outside pressure on this process."

• July 23, 2018: House Speaker Tim Moore (R-111) and Senate President Phil Berger (R-26) announced a special legislative session to convene on July 24, 2018.

• July 24, 2018: The General Assembly of North Carolina passed House Bill 3 (HB 3), which removed the Constitutional Amendments Publication Commission's power to write ballot captions. HB 3 also made the ballot captions for each of the constitutional amendments the words Constitutional Amendment.
  • In the state Senate, one Democrat—Joel Ford (D-36)—voted with 26 Republicans to approve HB 3. Two Republicans—Wesley Meredith (R-19) and Trudy Wade (R-27)—voted with 12 Democrats to oppose HB 3.
  • In the state House, the vote was 67-36. Republicans voted to pass HB 3, while Democrats voted against the legislation.

• July 27, 2018: Gov. Cooper (D) vetoes HB 3. He veto message said, "These proposed constitutional amendments would dramatically weaken our system of checks and balances. The proposed amendments also use misleading and deceptive terms to describe them on the ballot. [HB 3] compounds those problems by stopping additional information that may more accurately describe the proposed amendments on the ballot."
  • House Speaker Moore (R-111) and Senate President Berger (R-26) responded to the veto message, stating, "We will override these vetoes to deliver clear and consistent voter information on ballots this November."
  • Speaker Moore and President Berger also said the legislature would meet on August 4, 2018, to vote on overriding Gov. Cooper's veto.

• July 31, 2018: The Constitutional Amendments Publication Commission held a meeting to discuss captions for the constitutional amendments. However, state law required the commission's three members to be present to approve captions. Secretary of State Marshall (D) and Attorney General Stein (D) were present but legislative services officer Paul Coble (R) was not. Coble notified Marshall and Stein that he would be absent until the following week.

• August 4, 2018: The General Assembly of North Carolina voted to override Gov. Cooper's veto of HB 3. A three-fifths vote (60 percent) of present legislators in each chamber was needed to override the veto.
  • In the state Senate, one Democrat—Joel Ford (D-36)—voted with 27 Republicans to override the veto. No Republicans voted with the 12 Democrats to override the veto. As nine members were absent, 24 votes were needed to override the veto.
  • In the state House, the vote was 70-39. Republicans voted to pass HB 3, while Democrats voted against the legislation. As 11 members were absent, 65 votes were needed to override the veto.

Lawsuits regarding original constitutional amendments

• August 6, 2018: Gov. Cooper (D) sued the General Assembly of North Carolina in the Wake County Superior Court. Gov. Cooper asked the court to remove two constitutional amendments—the Judicial Selection for Midterm Vacancies Amendment and Legislative Appointments to Elections Board and Commissions Amendment—from the ballot. He said the amendments were a scheme to "eliminate the separation of powers, usurp the governor's executive authority and seize control of the appointment of every member of virtually every board and commission in all three branches of state government." He said the legislature's written questions for the amendments were false and misleading.
  • Joseph Kyzer, a spokesperson for House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate President Phil Berger, responded, "Political litigation is the governor's idea of leadership, and the people of North Carolina are becoming accustomed to Cooper's use of the court system to circumvent their support of popular legislative proposals."

• August 6, 2018: The North Carolina NAACP and Clean Air Carolina sued the state legislature in the Wake County Superior Court. The plaintiffs asked for four constitutional amendments—the Legislative Appointments to Elections Board and Commissions Amendment, Judicial Selection for Midterm Vacancies Amendment, Voter ID Amendment, and Income Tax Cap Amendment—to be removed from the ballot. The NAACP and Clean Air Carolina said that since some lawmakers were elected from districts that a federal court ruled were unconstitutional racial gerrymanders, the existing North Carolina State Legislature was a usurper legislature. Therefore, the constitutional amendments should be invalidated.
  • Senate President Phil Berger responded, "We predicted Democratic activists would launch absurd legal attacks to keep the voters from deciding on their own Constitution, but this one really jumps the shark. This absurd argument – which has already been rejected in federal court – is a sad and desperate attempt to stop North Carolina voters from joining 34 other states in requiring identification when casting a ballot."

• August 15, 2018: A three-judge panel—Judges Forrest D. Bridges, Thomas H. Lock and Jeffery Carpenter—heard arguments in both lawsuits.

• August 21, 2018: The judges dismissed the litigation to remove the Voter ID Amendment and Income Tax Cap Amendment from the ballot.

• August 21, 2018: The panel of judges, in a two-to-one decision, blocked the Legislative Appointments to Elections Board and Commissions Amendment and Judicial Selection for Midterm Vacancies Amendment from appearing on the ballot in November 2018. Judges Forrest D. Bridges, a Democrat, and Thomas H. Lock, who is unaffiliated, signed the decision to remove the amendments, while Judge Jeffery Carpenter, a Republican, dissented. According to Judges Bridges and Lock, the ballot language that the legislature included for the two amendments would not inform voters as to the amendments' effects and allow voters to form an intelligent opinion.
  • Pat Ryan, a spokesperson for Senate President Berger, described the ruling as "uncharted territory for judicial activism and sets a dangerous precedent when two judges take away the rights of (millions of) people to vote on what their constitution." He said Senate President Berger and House Speaker Moore's legal team was reviewing their options.
  • Ford Porter, a spokesperson for Gov. Cooper, responded to the ruling, saying, "Misleading voters about the true impact of amendments that threaten our fundamental separation of powers is wrong, as the ruling recognizes."

Legislation to replace the ballot language

• August 24, 2018: House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate President Phil Berger called a special session of the General Assembly of North Carolina to replace the two ballot measures that the three-judge panel blocked from appearing on the ballot in November on August 21. Moore said, "We hope this will end the unnecessary litigation and allow our state to move forward with the democratic process to let the people decide these issues for themselves."

• August 24, 2018: The state House approved new versions of the two constitutional amendments.
  • The Legislative Appointments to Elections Board and Commissions Amendment was rewritten to affect just the elections board, rather than the elections board and all other commissions. The vote was along partisan lines, with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing the amendment.
  • House Republicans approved the Judicial Selection for Midterm Vacancies Amendment with different ballot ballot language than the original. Democrats, along with one Republican, voted against the amendment.

• August 27, 2018: The state Senate approved new versions of the two constitutional amendments.
  • Senate Republicans, along with one Democrat, approved the rewritten Legislative Appointments to Elections Board Amendment.
  • Senate Republicans, along with one Democrat, approved the rewritten Judicial Selection for Midterm Vacancies Amendment.

• August 27, 2018: Gov. Roy Cooper's (D) spokesperson Ford Porter responded to the passage of the revised amendments, saying, "Yes, you can expect further legal action. Less than a week before ballots are to be printed, rather than repeal their old misleading amendments, Republicans have passed more misleading amendments to erode checks and balances in our state’s constitution."

Revised constitutional amendments in the conflict between North Carolina Gov. Cooper and state legislature
Measure	Description	Republicans	Democrats	Gov. Cooper
Midterm Judicial Vacancies Amendment	remove the governor's power to fill judicial vacancies and, instead, require a commission to develop a list of candidates, legislators to narrow the list down to two candidates, and the governor selecting the final nominee.	• Total: 103/104 (99.04%) • Senate: 31/31 • House: 72/73	• Total: 1/48 (2.08%) • Senate: 1/14 • House: 0/34
Legislative Appointments to Elections Board Amendment	remove the governor's power to make appointments to the elections and ethics board, meaning legislative leaders would make all eight appointments to the board	• Total: 104/104 (100.00%) • Senate: 31/31 • House: 73/73	• Total: 1/48 (2.08%) • Senate: 14/15 • House: 33/33

Lawsuits regarding revised constitutional amendments

• August 29, 2018: Gov. Roy Cooper (D) filed litigation against the revised constitutional amendments. He said, "The General Assembly has now retreated to a new position less extreme than its original one, but the General Assembly's new position is still unconstitutional – the new ballot questions are still misleading, and they still fail to provide the voters with the information they need to make an intelligent decision on the wisdom of the new proposed amendments."
  • Rep. David Lewis (R-53) and Sen. Ralph Hise (R-47) responded to the governor's lawsuit, stating, "This General Assembly, complied, in exacting detail, with a court opinion with which it disagreed. Beyond all the name-calling and drama, Governor Cooper can't point to a single legitimate reason why the new amendments don't meet that court's standard, nor does he even really care about that."

• August 31, 2018: The same three-judge panel—Judges Forrest D. Bridges, Thomas H. Lock and Jeffery Carpenter—that struck down the earlier amendments affirmed that the rewritten constitutional amendments could appear on the ballot. Gov. Cooper appealed the decision to the North Carolina Supreme Court.

• September 4, 2018: The North Carolina Supreme Court affirmed the panel's decision in a one-sentence ruling, allowing the constitutional amendments to remain on the ballot for the general election on November 6, 2018.

Referred amendments on the ballot

From 1996 through 2016, the General Assembly of North Carolina referred 10 constitutional amendments to the ballot. Voters approved all 10 of the referred amendments. All of the amendments were referred to the ballot for elections during even-numbered election years. The average number of amendments appearing the ballot was one. The approval rate at the ballot box was 100.0 percent during the 20-year period from 1996 through 2016. The rejection rate was 0.0 percent. Before 2018, the most recent constitutional amendment was on the ballot in 2014.

North Carolina statewide general election ballot measures, 1996-2016
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Annual average	Annual median	Annual minimum	Annual maximum
10	10	100.00%	0	0.00%	0.9	1.0	0	3

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the North Carolina Constitution

In North Carolina, a constitutional amendment must be passed by a 60 percent vote in each house of the state legislature during one legislative session.

Passage of first version

The amendment was first introduced into the legislature as House Bill 913 (HB 913) on April 25, 2017.

The North Carolina House of Representatives approved the amendment, 74 to 44 with two members absent, on June 26, 2018. In the state House, Republicans, except Rep. Charles McGrady (R-117), voted to approve the bill. Democrats voted against the bill. Republicans controlled 75 seats in the state House and 72 votes were required to pass the amendment.

On June 27, 2018, the North Carolina State Senate voted 32 to 14, with four members absent, to approve HB 913. At least 30 votes were needed to approve the amendment. Republicans controlled 35 seats, and 32 of them voted to pass the amendment. Democrats voted to oppose the amendment.

As the amendment was approved in both chambers of the state legislature, the legislation was certified to appear on the ballot for the election on November 6, 2018.

Vote in the North Carolina House of Representatives June 26, 2018
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 72  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	74	44	2
Total percent	61.67%	36.67%	16.67%
Democrat	0	43	2
Republican	74	1	0

Vote in the North Carolina State Senate June 27, 2018
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 30  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	32	14	4
Total percent	64.00%	28.00%	8.00%
Democrat	0	13	2
Republican	32	1	2

Cooper v. Berger et. al.

On August 21, 2018, a panel of judges, in a two-to-one decision, blocked the Legislative Appointments to Elections Board and Commissions Amendment and Judicial Selection for Midterm Vacancies Amendment from appearing on the ballot in November 2018. Judges Forrest D. Bridges, a Democrat, and Thomas H. Lock, who is unaffiliated, signed the decision to remove the amendments, while Judge Jeffery Carpenter, a Republican, dissented. According to Judges Bridges and Lock, the ballot language that the legislature included for the two amendments would not inform voters as to the amendments' effects and allow voters to form an intelligent opinion. Pat Ryan, a spokesperson for Senate President Phil Berger (R), said legal options were being considered following the ruling. Gov. Roy Cooper (D) initiated the litigation against the amendments.

Gov. Roy Cooper (D) initiated the lawsuit against the state General Assembly's constitutional amendments. Pat Ryan, a spokesperson for Senate President Berger, described the ruling as "uncharted territory for judicial activism and sets a dangerous precedent when two judges take away the rights of (millions of) people to vote on what their constitution." Ford Porter, a spokesperson for Gov. Cooper, responded to the ruling, saying, "Misleading voters about the true impact of amendments that threaten our fundamental separation of powers is wrong, as the ruling recognizes."

Passage of second version

House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate President Phil Berger called a special session of the General Assembly of North Carolina to replace the two ballot measures that the three-judge panel blocked from appearing on the ballot in November on August 21.

The Legislative Appointments to Elections Board and Commissions Amendment was rewritten to affect just the elections board, rather than the elections board and all other commissions. The new version of the constitutional amendment was known as House Bill 4 (HB 4). On August 24, the state House voted 73-33 and along partisan lines, with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing, to approve HB 4.

On August 27, 2018, the state Senate approved HB 4 in a vote of 32-14. Senate Republicans, along with one Democrat, approved the rewritten constitutional amendment.

As both chambers of the state General Assembly approved HB 4, the revised constitutional amendment was referred to the general election ballot.

Vote in the North Carolina House of Representatives August 24, 2018
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 72  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	73	33	13
Total percent	61.35%	27.73%	10.92%
Democrat	0	33	11
Republican	73	0	2

Vote in the North Carolina State Senate August 27, 2018
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 30  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	32	14	4
Total percent	64.00%	28.00%	8.00%
Democrat	1	14	0
Republican	31	0	4

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in North Carolina

Poll times

In North Carolina, polling places are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Any voter who is standing in line at the time polls close must be permitted to vote.

Registration requirements

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in North Carolina, each applicant must be a United States citizen, a resident of the county in which they are registering to vote for at least 30 days before the election, be at least 16 years old at the time of application and at least 18 years old by the time of the subsequent general election, and not be serving a felony sentence, including probation and parole The North Carolina voter registration application is available online.

Voter registration applications can be completed online or submitted to the appropriate county board of elections. Applications must be submitted at least 25 days before the election, but voters can also register and vote on the same day during the early voting period, but not on Election Day.

Voter registration services are also provided by the following agencies:

• Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
• Division of Services for the Blind
• Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Division of Health Benefits
• Division of Child and Family Well-Being/WIC
• Division of Social Services
• Division of Rehabilitation Services
• Division of Employment Security (DES)
• Division of State Operated Healthcare Facilities

Automatic registration

North Carolina does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

North Carolina has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

North Carolina allows same-day voter registration during the early voting period only.

Residency requirements

Prospective voters must reside in the county in which they are registering to vote for at least 30 days before the election.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

North Carolina does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, a voter who fraudulently or falsely registers is guilty of a "Class I felony under Chapter 163 of the NC General Statutes."

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The North Carolina State Board of Elections allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.

Voter ID requirements

North Carolina requires voters to present photo ID when voting.

Note: According to the Board of Elections website, "On April 28, 2023, the North Carolina Supreme Court reversed an injunction against implementation of photo ID legislation. As a result, photo ID laws enacted in 2018 and 2019 will be implemented moving forward, starting with the municipal elections in September, October, and November 2023. A separate federal case challenging the same laws is pending, but no injunction against the laws exists in that case." The injunction was issued on December 16, 2022.

The following documents were acceptable forms of identification as of May 2024:

“

Any of the following that is unexpired, or expired for one year or less: North Carolina driver’s license State ID from the NCDMV (also called “non-operator ID”) Driver’s license or non-driver ID from another state, District of Columbia, or U.S. territory (only if voter registered in North Carolina within 90 days of the election) U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport card North Carolina voter photo ID card issued by a county board of elections (...) College or university student ID approved by the State Board of Elections (...) State or local government or charter school employee ID approved by the State Board of Elections (...) Note: A voter 65 or older may use an expired form of acceptable ID if the ID was unexpired on their 65th birthday. Any of the following, regardless of whether the ID contains an expiration or issuance date: Military or veterans ID card (with photo) issued by the U.S. government Tribal enrollment card (with photo) issued by a tribe recognized by the State of North Carolina or the federal government ID card (with photo) issued by an agency of the U.S. government or the State of North Carolina for a public assistance program (Note: Although this is an acceptable form of ID under North Carolina law, the State Board is not aware of any such ID in circulation that contains a photo. All IDs for voting are required to have a photo.)

”

For a list of acceptable student and public employee IDs, click here.

See also

2018 measures

• 2018 ballot measures
• State legislatures measures on the ballot

North Carolina

• North Carolina ballot measures
• North Carolina ballot measure laws
• Conflicts between Gov. Roy Cooper and the General Assembly of North Carolina

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• House Bill 913