There will be six constitutional amendments on your ballot in November. Two are of particular concern to people with disabilities, and we have provided links to all six below.
One amendment would lower the cap on the state income tax rate to 7% from 10%. The current personal income tax rate in NC is 5.499%. Such a reduction would limit the flexibility of state government in the event of an urgent need. That means other parts of the budget—especially healthcare and education—could be in jeopardy in the event of a terrible hurricane season or other unforeseen expense. Also, if no one’s rate can be more than 7%, then the only way to raise revenue from individual income tax is to eliminate tax credits and deductions. This may actually raise the taxes of low-income people with disabilities in the long run.
The second proposed amendment would require voters to provide photo identification before voting in person. We know that people with disabilities are less likely to have an ID than non-disabled people. The amendment provides no flexibility for people who do not have access to identification documents, including birth certificates, that are needed to get a state issued photo identification. This amendment threatens to disenfranchise voters with disabilities.
The other four amendments would:
- Establish a right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife
- Increase the rights of victims of crime
- Create a bipartisan Board of Ethics and Elections
- Move authority to fill judicial vacancies away from the governor
Learn about your voting rights on our accessible voting website, www.accessthevotenc.org.