Reading the first part of this article.
Three questions are waiting on your ballot this fall, and for many voters they’ll be on the back of it.
One orders the legislature to limit how fast local property taxes can climb. One caps the state income tax at 3.5%. And one writes photo ID for mail-in voters into the state constitution.
The Catawba County Democratic Party has picked its target: the property tax amendment.
“This isn’t the tax relief working families deserve. It’s a giveaway to corporate giants and Republicans are hoping you won’t notice,” the party wrote in a Sept. 17 Facebook post. “Vote NO and pass this on. It’s not worth the $7.”
The three graphics attached to the post spell out the pitch: “Vote no on the property tax levy limit amendment. Here’s why.” They claim “Republicans are dressing up this amendment to fool you into thinking it’s made for you. It’s not. It benefits corporate giants like Duke Energy, Lowe’s, and Google.” And they warn: “If this amendment passes, our local budgets including schools, emergency services, transportation, and more will be cut by $950 million. Only to save homeowners a whopping $7 a month.”
The Catawba post doesn’t mention the other two amendments. The state party goes further. Six days later, on Sept. 23, the NC Democratic Party’s weekly “content package” gave supporters a caption on the same “dressed up” theme: “If their biggest donors call it a win, it wasn’t built to help you. Three amendments on your ballot this November, dressed up as relief, protection, and security. Vote AGAINST them all.”
Here’s what’s on the ballot, in the ballot’s own words, starting with the one Catawba Democrats want you to reject.
1. A limit on local property tax hikes
On the ballot: “Constitutional amendment requiring limits on property tax increases by local governments.”
The amendment adds one sentence to the constitution: “The General Assembly shall enact general laws limiting the amount by which the levy of taxes on property may increase, which may include exceptions.”
This is a levy limit, not a rate cap. It limits how much total property tax money a county or city can collect from one year to the next. The amendment doesn’t set the number. Lawmakers would write the formula later.
So where do $950 million and $7 a month come from? The Catawba post doesn’t say. The numbers match an analysis by the NC Housing Coalition, an affordable-housing advocacy group. That analysis is a what-if. It modeled how a 2% levy limit would have hit counties during their last property revaluation, and it found local governments “would have lost over $950+ Million” while the average homeowner saved “$84 a year,” or “just $7 per month.” It named Duke Energy, Meta and Google among the big corporate winners.
Two things the graphic leaves out. That $950 million is a statewide estimate for local governments across North Carolina, not Catawba County’s budget. And the 2% figure appears nowhere in the amendment. Until lawmakers write the formula, nobody can say what the limit saves or what it costs.
That uncertainty is the Democrats’ strongest argument, and they lean on it hard. The state party calls the amendment “a blank check.” House Democratic Leader Robert Reives said, according to NC Newsline: “We’re asking people to vote for an amendment to tell us to do the job we already have.”
Supporters start at the top. House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, told Carolina Journal: “Property taxes are out of control, and some local governments are abusing their power by overtaxing and underdelivering for their constituents. It’s time for real reform, and this constitutional amendment on levy limits will help stop runaway property tax hikes and protect North Carolina taxpayers.”
Rep. Brian Echevarria, R-Cabarrus, a primary sponsor, pointed out that 22 states already limit local levies. “The sky did not fall. Services were not cut,” he said, according to NC Newsline.
Official summary: “This amendment to the North Carolina Constitution would require the General Assembly to set limits on property tax increases by local governments.”
The vote: House Bill 1089, now Session Law 2026-5. The House passed it 73-46 on May 20, 2026, with the same split as the income tax amendment below. The Senate passed it 31-15 the same afternoon. All 30 Republicans voted yes, joined by Sen. Dan Blue, D-Wake. Fifteen Democrats voted no.
2. Income tax ceiling: 7% down to 3.5%
On the ballot: “Constitutional amendment to keep the State income tax rate from being raised higher than three and one-half percent (3.5%).”
Right now the constitution lets Raleigh tax your income at up to 7%. Voters cut that ceiling from 10% in 2018. This amendment cuts it in half again.
To be clear about what it does: the amendment doesn’t change this year’s tax bill. It lowers the ceiling. The flat rate is 3.99% today and is already scheduled to drop to 3.49% in 2027, according to Senate Republicans. If voters approve, the maximum becomes 3.5% for tax years starting Jan. 1, 2027. Any future legislature that wants to push the rate higher would have to go back to voters first.
That is exactly what the left objects to. The NC Democratic Party calls it “a permanent cap that guts the state’s ability to fund schools, hospitals, and emergency response, all while Duke Energy and corporate landlords keep their loopholes.” The left-leaning NC Budget & Tax Center was more direct. Executive Director Alexandra Sirota said the tax amendments “won’t cut anyone’s taxes, but they would make it more difficult for future lawmakers to fairly raise the revenue needed to meet costs through a higher rate on millionaires, billionaires, and highly profitable corporations.”
Republicans say that’s the whole point. “When it comes to setting the maximum rate, the people of our state deserve to have a say,” said Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover, a primary sponsor, when the bill was filed.
Official summary: “This amendment to the North Carolina Constitution would lower the State income tax rate from a maximum of 7% to a maximum of 3.5% beginning January 1, 2027.”
The vote: Senate Bill 1080, “Lower Taxes for All NC,” now Session Law 2026-4. The Senate passed it 30-18 on May 19, 2026, on a straight party-line vote. The House passed it 73-46 on May 20. Seventy-one Republicans voted yes, joined by two unaffiliated Mecklenburg lawmakers, Reps. Carla Cunningham and Nasif Majeed. All 46 Democrats voted no. Amendments need three-fifths of each chamber, which is 72 votes in the House, so Cunningham and Majeed put it over the top.
3. Photo ID for every voter
On the ballot: “Constitutional amendment to require all voters, not just those presenting to vote in person, to present photo identification before voting.”
The constitution already requires photo ID for in-person voting. Voters put that there in 2018. This amendment deletes two words, “in person,” so the rule covers every voter, including those who vote by mail.
Here’s the part the “new hurdle” talking point skips. Mail voters already have to send in a copy of their photo ID, or an exception form, under current state law, according to the General Assembly’s own bill summary. The amendment moves that rule into the constitution, where a future legislature can’t quietly repeal it.
The NC Democratic Party calls it “a new hurdle for the seniors, military families, and disabled voters who vote by mail, stacked on top of an ID law that’s already on the books.” Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, told WUNC the amendment “adds a hurdle that’s unnecessary” and is “meant to address what is perceived to be voter security issues when there really is no problem with folks not having that (security) for absentee ballots.”
“You’re trying to balance security with access,” Rep. Mike Schietzelt, R-Wake, told the station.
Official summary: “This amendment to the North Carolina Constitution would require presentation of photographic identification for voters in all instances in North Carolina elections.”
The vote: Senate Bill 921, now Session Law 2024-58. It passed the Senate 30-19 on Dec. 2, 2024: all 30 Republicans voted yes and all 19 Democrats voted no. It passed the House 73-45 on Dec. 11, 2024, with 72 Republicans and one Democrat, Rep. Shelly Willingham of Edgecombe, voting yes. Forty-five Democrats voted no.
Catawba’s delegation: yes across the board
All three of Catawba County’s legislators voted for both 2026 tax amendments: Sen. Mark Hollo, R-Catawba; Rep. Mitchell Setzer, R-Catawba; and Rep. Jay Adams, R-Catawba.
Setzer is one of four primary sponsors of the property tax amendment, the very measure the county’s Democratic Party wants voters to reject. Adams is a co-sponsor. Hollo co-sponsored the income tax cap.
On mail-ballot ID in December 2024, Setzer and Adams voted yes in the House. So did Hollo’s predecessor, then-Sen. Dean Proctor, R-Catawba. Speaker Hall voted yes on all three amendments.
The property tax question hits close to home. Catawba commissioners held the county rate at 39.85 cents per $100 of value this year. The county said the budget still grew thanks to “natural revenue growth from increased tax-base investments.” Because a levy limit caps the revenue collected, not the rate, the formula lawmakers eventually write would matter here too. Setzer, who helped lead the legislature’s interim property tax study, once predicted the work would go on “till death, do us part, and then 15 minutes later,” Carolina Public Press reported.
How to vote
Each amendment passes if a simple majority of the people voting on that question vote “for.” The governor gets no veto over constitutional amendments.
Early voting in Catawba County runs Oct. 15–31 at five sites:
- Newton Main Library, 115 West C St., Newton
- Highland Recreation Center, 1451 8th St. Dr. NE, Hickory
- Southwest Library, 2944 S. Hwy 127, Hickory
- Conover Station, 403 Conover Station SE, Conover
- Sherrills Ford-Terrell Library, 9154 Sherrills Ford Road, Terrell
Hours are 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays (Oct. 17, 24 and 31) and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays (Oct. 18 and 25). The regular registration deadline is Oct. 9 at 5 p.m., and you can register and vote at the same time during early voting. Mail ballot requests are due Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. On Election Day, Nov. 3, polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at your assigned precinct. Questions: Catawba County Board of Elections, 828-464-2424.
Catawba Democrats say Republicans are “hoping you won’t notice.” Each ballot question is a single sentence. Read all three yourself before you vote.
Earlier coverage: Potential amendment to cap property taxes has NC counties concerned · Five takeaways from the 2026 legislative session · What’s up with mail-in voting in NC in 2026? · Commissioners adopt $353,319,157 FY 2026/27 budget with no property-tax rate increase
Source note
Ballot list and wording: NC State Board of Elections, statewide referendum choices list for Nov. 3, 2026; NCSBE 2026 election dates and deadlines; Catawba County Board of Elections referendum choices list. Official summaries: Legislative Services Officer, adopted Aug. 20, 2026, under G.S. 147-54.10. Session laws: S.L. 2024-58, S.L. 2026-4, S.L. 2026-5. Bill histories, sponsors and roll calls: SB 921 (Senate RCS 677, House RCS 810), SB 1080 (Senate, House), HB 1089 (House, Senate). Current mail-ballot ID rule: Legislative Analysis Division summary of S.L. 2024-58. Catawba County Democratic Party, Facebook post, Sept. 17, 2026, viewed Sept. 26, 2026, through Facebook’s public post embed. NC Housing Coalition, “Analysis: Impacts of a Property Tax Levy Limit”. North Carolina Democratic Party, “Endless War, Demand for Answers, Amendments,” Sept. 23, 2026. NC Budget & Tax Center, statement from Alexandra Sirota, Sept. 9, 2026. Senate Republicans (Berger press office), May 13, 2026. WUNC, “Explainer: The constitutional amendments on the 2026 ballot,” Sept. 22, 2026. NC Newsline, May 20, 2026. Carolina Journal, May 21, 2026. WRAL video interview with its state government reporter on the 2026 amendments and the 2018 in-person voter ID amendment. Carolina Public Press via Catawba First News, May 20, 2026 (Setzer quote). Catawba County Board of Elections early voting schedule.
Cover: The North Carolina Legislative Building in Raleigh, where all three amendments passed the General Assembly. Photo: Jmturner via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
