North Carolina Constitution
| North Carolina Constitution |
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| Preamble |
| Articles |
| I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII • XIII • XIV |
The North Carolina Constitution is the state constitution of North Carolina.
- The current North Carolina Constitution was adopted in 1971.
- North Carolina has had three state constitutions.
- The current state constitution has 14 articles.
- The current North Carolina Constitution has been amended 37 times.[1]
- Voters last approved four new amendments to the North Carolina Constitution on November 5, 2024.
The North Carolina Constitution can be amended with a legislative or covention-referred constitutional amendment, both of which require voter approval.
A state constitution is the fundamental document that outlines a state's framework for governance, including the powers, structure, and limitations of the state government, individual and civil rights, and other matters.
Background
This version, ratified in 1971, is North Carolina's third constitution. The first, created in 1776 after the American Declaration of Independence, was substantially amended in 1835. It created the government for the new state. In 1868, a new constitution brought the state back into the Union after the Civil War. The 1971 constitution was drafted after a study conducted by the North Carolina State Bar investigated needed updates and reorganizations. The new constitution was approved by voters on November 3, 1970, by a vote of 393,759 to 251,132.[2]
The current version of the constitution, which includes 14 articles, reorganized the state government. Each version of the state constitution expanded the rights of the citizens as well as sections of the government.[3]
Since the Constitution of 1971, there have been 42 amendments.
Preamble
Article I
- See also: Article I, North Carolina Constitution
Article I of the North Carolina Constitution is entitled "Declaration of Rights," There are 38 sections to this article, each outlining a separate recognized right. Many of these sections broaden the rights covered by the Bill of Rights. The state constitution also secures additional rights, for example the right to a public education and to open courts. Also of note, this section specifically denies the state the ability to secede from the United States and declares that each "citizen of this State owes paramount allegiance to the Constitution and government of the United States."[4]
Click here to read this article of the North Carolina Constitution.
Article II
- See also: Article II, North Carolina Constitution
Article II of the North Carolina Constitution is entitled "Legislative," and declares that all legislative powers in North Carolina reside in the General Assembly. The General Assembly consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The chambers have 50 and 120 members and each house has a term of two years, respectively. Guidelines for the formation of voting districts and qualification for office are also covered.
This article also gives the governor the power to veto legislation in some circumstances. Veto power was denied the governor until 1995 when the constitution was amended. North Carolina was the last state to extend this power to its governor.
Click here to read this article of the North Carolina Constitution.
Article III
- See also: Article III, North Carolina Constitution
Article III of the North Carolina Constitution is entitled "Executive" and vests all executive authority in the governor. The duties of the governor are defined as is the process of succession, should the governor die or become incapacitated. Holders of the governor office are limited to two consecutive terms. The "Council of State," a cabinet like body, is filled with eight popularly elected officials. This article also defines and mandates a balanced budget.
Click here to read this article of the North Carolina Constitution.
Article IV
- See also: Article IV, North Carolina Constitution
Article IV is entitled "Judicial." This article defines the make up the judicial branch of the state and prohibits the legislature from inhibiting its function. Similar to the federal government, the power to impeach state officials and judges is given to the state House of Representatives. The Senate can remove a person from office with a 2/3 majority vote after an impeachment. This article also deals with the necessary qualifications of a judge and confers the power of judicial review with the state’s Supreme Court.
Click here to read this article of the North Carolina Constitution.
Article V
- See also: Article V, North Carolina Constitution
Article V is entitled "Finance," it gives the state government the right to tax and puts limits on that right. It authorizes an income tax and also limits the ability to issue public bonds.
Click here to read this article of the North Carolina Constitution.
Article VI
- See also: Article VI, North Carolina Constitution
Article VI is entitled "Suffrage and Eligibility to Office," it provides every person who is at least 18 years, an American Citizen and living within North Carolina the right to vote. This right is denied to felons and people illiterate in English.
This article also sets the eligibility to hold office. To hold state office a person cannot fail any of the following categories:[4]
- Younger than 21 years of age.
- Denies the existence of God (see Infeasible Provisions).
- A person who is not qualified to vote in an election for that office.
- Felon.
- Already holds a state or federal office.
Click here to read this article of the North Carolina Constitution.
Article VII
- See also: Article VII, North Carolina Constitution
Article VII is entitled "Local Government" and gives the General Assembly the power to define the boundaries of governmental subdivisions (counties, towns, cities). It limits the distance of newly incorporated town or cities from established cities based on the established city's population. The office of sheriff is provided for each county.
Click here to read this article of the North Carolina Constitution.
Article VIII
Article VIII is entitled "Corporations" and gives the General Assembly the right to create and regulate corporations.
Click here to read this article of the North Carolina Constitution.
Article IX
- See also: Article IX, North Carolina Constitution
Article IX is entitled "Education" and established public education compulsorily for all able bodied children, "unless educated by other means."[4] The State Board of Education is defined here and given the power to regulate all "free public education" in the state. This article demands that the General Assembly establish a system of higher education and states that higher education should be free, "as far as practicable."[4]
Click here to read this article of the North Carolina Constitution.
Article X
- See also: Article X, North Carolina Constitution
Article X is entitled "Homesteads and Exemptions" and prevents the forced sale of a person's primary residence to pay for a debt, unless the house was specifically used as collateral for a loan. Females are also able to maintain full ownership of all property they own when they marry, under this article. In addition, life insurance policies that are paid to a spouse or child are exempt from claims of debt from the estate of the deceased.
Click here to read this article of the North Carolina Constitution.
Article XI
- See also: Article XI, North Carolina Constitution
Article XI is entitled "Punishments, Corrections, and Charities" and describes the only punishment methods to be used by the state. It specifically only allows the death penalty in cases of "murder, arson, burglary, and rape."[4] This article gives the responsibility of the public welfare to the General Assembly.
Click here to read this article of the North Carolina Constitution.
Article XII
- See also: Article XII, North Carolina Constitution
This article is entitled "Military Forces" and states, "The Governor shall be Commander in Chief of the military forces of the State and may call out those forces to execute the law, suppress riots and insurrections, and repel invasion."[4]
Click here to read this article of the North Carolina Constitution.
Article XIII
Article XII is entitled "Conventions; Constitutional Amendment and Revision" and describes the two ways the constitution may be amended, by popular convention or through legislation. The later is the most common way to amend the constitution as the last time the constitution was amended by convention was 1875. In a legislative action, an amendment must pass by three-fifths in both houses of the General Assembly and also obtain a majority of a popular vote.
Article XIV
- See also: Article XIV, North Carolina Constitution
The final article of the constitution is entitled "Miscellaneous" and covers topics that do not fall neatly into the previous articles. Topics of sections in this article include:
- Establishing Raleigh as the capital.
- Establishing permanently the current state border.
- Demanding the General Assembly uniformly apply laws to the state.
- Allows any law that was legally enacted before this constitution the ability to remain in effect unless the law conflicts with the constitution.
- Provides the General Assembly the ability to conserve natural resource by the creation of parks and the enactment of laws.
Click here to read this article of the North Carolina Constitution.
Amending the North Carolina constitution
The North Carolina Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution—a legislative process and a state constitutional convention. North Carolina requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.
Legislature
A 60% vote is required during one legislative session for the North Carolina General Assembly to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 72 votes in the North Carolina House of Representatives and 30 votes in the North Carolina State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Convention
According to Article XIII of the North Carolina Constitution, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote vote of both chambers of state Legislature is required to place a constitutional convention question on the ballot. A simple majority vote is required for voters to approve the question. Any amendments proposed by a constitutional convention also require voter approval.
Infeasible provisions
As per the Federal Supremacy Clause, all federal law and the United States Constitution overrule the North Carolina Constitution. There are several provisions in the current North Carolina Constitution that may conflict with federal law and/or the U.S. Constitution.
At least two provisions, carried over from previous versions of the document, are not enforced either because they are known to be void or would almost certainly be struck down in court.
- Section 8 of Article VI disqualifies from office "any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God."[4] However, Article Six of the United States Constitution stipulates that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." Under current precedent, this provision is binding on the states under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. As a result, this article has never been enforced despite being carried over from the 1868 Constitution.[4]
- Section 4 of Article VI requires that a person be literate in the English language before registering to vote. This provision was widely used to effectively disenfranchise African-American voters in the Jim Crow era. As such, it is widely held that this section violates the Voting Rights Act. Although this provision was carried over from the 1868 Constitution, it has never been enforced. However, several attempts to remove this provision have failed.
In addition, federal and state court decisions have narrowed the scope of at least one section of the constitution. Section 3 and Section 5 of Article II state, "No county shall be divided in the formation of a representative district."[4] This provision is known as the "Whole County Provision." However, in 1981, the federal Justice Department ruled that this provision was inconsistent with the Voting Rights Act. The state thus ignored the Whole County Provision until 2002. That year, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the state constitution's equal protection clause presumed single-member districts and was thus a limitation on the Whole County Provision. It can also be argued that the "one person, one vote" rule from Reynolds v. Sims also limits this provision.[5][4]
See also
- State constitution
- Constitutional article
- Constitutional amendment
- Constitutional revision
- Constitutional convention
- Amendments
External links
- North Carolina General Assembly, "North Carolina State Constitution"
- Documenting the American South, "The Convention of 1835"
Footnotes
- ↑ According to Steinglass and Scarselli (2022), the Constitution of 1971 had been amended 22 times between 1971 and 1995. From 1996 through 2024, voters have approved 15 additional constitutional amendments.
- ↑ Steinglass, S., et al. (2022). The North Carolina State Constitution. New York, NY: Oxford University Press
- ↑ NC pedia, "Official history of the North Carolina Constitution," accessed March 30, 2014
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 North Carolina State Legislature, "North Carolina State Constitution," accessed March 30, 2014
- ↑ Virginia Law Review, "State Redistricting Law: Stephenson v. Bartlett and Judicial Promotion of Electoral Competition"
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