A new survey says that North Carolinians are less likely to support two proposed Constitutional amendments set to appear on the North Carolina ballot this fall as they learn more about the provision.
The poll from Elon University focused on two of the six proposed amendments that will be up for a vote in November, after lengthy court battles over the inclusion of four of the proposals. The survey asked respondents their opinion regarding the amendments related to voter identification and state income tax limits.
Overall, 56 percent of respondents said they were aware that up to six proposed amendments would be on this fall’s ballot, but 62 percent of those surveyed said they had heard “a little” or “not at all” about the amendments.
Respondents were initially read a description of the Voter ID proposal that said: “Constitutional amendment to require voter to provide photo identification before voting in person.”
Sixty-three percent of respondents said they supported that proposal.
In a second version asked to the same respondents, the polling service read a three paragraph description, which included the fact that the North Carolina General Assembly would still have to write the enacting legislation “providing the details of acceptable and unacceptable forms” of identification after the amendment was potentially passed.
After hearing this version, the number of respondent supportive of the amendment dropped four points to 59 percent.
Of those surveyed, 65 percent said they felt the voter ID proposal would reduce voter fraud and 40 percent said they felt it either would “probably” or “definitely” prevent “legal, eligible voters from casting a ballot.”
Support for the amendment that would cap the income tax rate in North Carolina dropped at a double-digit rate when respondents were given longer descriptions of the proposal.
The first iteration of the question asked those surveyed if they supported a plan to “reduce the income tax rate in North Carolina to a maximum allowable rate of seven percent,” which drew support from 56 percent of respondents.
When the question went into greater detail saying that the current tax rate in North Carolina is just under 5.5 percent and the proposed cap would not reduce current taxes, 45 percent of respondents said they supported the proposal.
The Elon University survey was of registered voters on September 1 and 3. A survey from Public Policy Polling earlier this year also found generic support for all of the six proposed amendments. A campaign asking residents to vote against all six proposed amendments is being pushed by Democrats and their supporters across the state, including Governor Roy Cooper.
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