{"id":152,"date":"2026-05-19T22:35:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T22:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=152"},"modified":"2026-05-19T22:35:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T22:35:25","slug":"analysis-nc-lawmakers-consider-six-more-constitutional-amendments-as-midterms-loom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=152","title":{"rendered":"Analysis: NC lawmakers consider six more constitutional amendments as midterms loom"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How do you get Republican voters to the polls in a difficult political climate? Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are hoping a slate of up to seven constitutional amendments might do the trick.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more NC House advances property tax loophole and UNC system construction bills<\/a><\/p>\n

Multiple polls nationally and in North Carolina show low enthusiasm among Republican voters,\u00a0 President Donald Trump\u2019s approval rating sagging, and Democratic candidates up and down the ballot widening their leads over GOP rivals as the midterm election approaches.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re probably seeing the winds of the political mood of the state against them,\u201d said political scientist Michael Bitzer, director of the Center for Politics and Public Service at Catawba College. \u201cThe standard is that registered Republicans always overperform in terms of turnout, and they will need that historic turnout advantage to blunt what is obvious in the mood of the state and the country against the Republican party.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2018, when a similar set of circumstances led Republicans to put six constitutional amendments on the ballot designed to appeal to conservatives, including a 7% income tax cap, photo voter ID, and a constitutional right to hunt. Four passed and two didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

State House and Senate Republicans still lost their supermajorities, but the blue wave could have been worse than it was, said Bitzer. \u201cOurs was fairly muted in comparison to what the national and other state dynamics were like.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Eight years later, North Carolina Republicans are returning to the 2018 playbook, loading up the 2026 general election ballot with a raft of similar proposals aimed at boosting conservative turnout.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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NC Republicans unveil new constitutional amendments on income tax, voter ID<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n