Constitution of North Carolina

The Fifth North Carolina Provincial Congress ratified the first constitution, accompanied by a Declaration of Rights.

Dissatisfied with the central role of the General Assembly, a state constitutional convention was called in 1835.

These changes gave the more populous western counties more of a say in government but still favored those who owned property, since this was required to vote and hold office.

[2] In 1865, Governor William W. Holden called for a Conference to write a new Constitution; it was rejected by a popular vote.

"[4] Akin to the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, also adopted in 1868, it was product of the winning side in the Civil War: the (anti-slavery) Republicans and a few scalawags.

[6] The draft that later became the Constitution of 1971 began with a study into needed changes by the North Carolina State Bar in 1967.

The following are significant amendments made since the 1971 constitution: Article III, Section 11 of the North Carolina Constitution, approved by voters on November 3, 1970, required the legislature to reduce the more than 300 administrative departments, agencies, and offices to no more than 25 principal administrative departments by 1 July 1975.

[8] We, the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for the preservation of the American Union and the existence of our civil, political and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those blessings to us and our posterity, do, for the more certain security thereof and for the better government of this State, ordain and establish this Constitution.

[10] Article II declares that all legislative powers in North Carolina are given to the General Assembly.

[10] Article IV defines the make-up the judicial branch of the state and prohibits the legislature from inhibiting its function.

This article also deals with the necessary qualifications of a judge and confers the power of judicial review with the state's Supreme Court.

[10] Article VI provides the right to vote to every person who is at least 18 years, an American citizen, living within North Carolina, and (since 2018) has a voter ID.

[10] This right is denied to felons (when any part of a felony sentence, including probation, is active) and people illiterate in English.

No one can hold elected state office who: Article VII gives the general assembly the power to define the boundaries of governmental subdivisions (counties, towns, cities).

[10] Article X 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.

Also, life insurance policies that are paid to a spouse or child are exempt from claims of debt from the estate of the deceased.

[10] Article XIII describes the two ways the constitution may be amended: by popular convention or through legislation.

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.

At least two provisions are not presently enforced either because they are known to be void or would almost certainly be struck down in court, even though they were carried over verbatim from the 1868 Constitution.

In addition, federal and state court decisions have narrowed the scope of at least two sections of the constitution.

However, in 1981, the federal Justice Department ruled that this provision was inconsistent with the Voting Rights Act.

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.

[17] Section 2 of Article 11 ("Death Punishment") limits executions to "murder, arson, burglary, and rape".

North Carolina Amendment 1's declaration to not recognize same-sex marriages is contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, as well as the federal Respect for Marriage Act.