Constitutional Amendment/Repeal Literacy Test
Plain English Summary
This bill proposes a constitutional amendment to remove North Carolina's literacy test requirement for voting from the state constitution. The amendment would be submitted to voters in the November 2026 general election, and if approved by a majority, would eliminate this outdated provision that is already prohibited under federal law.
Arguments in Favor
Supporters argue this removes an obsolete constitutional provision that has not been enforceable since the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned literacy tests nationwide. Cleaning up the state constitution by eliminating this legacy of Jim Crow-era voting restrictions aligns North Carolina law with current federal protections and modernizes the constitutional text to reflect current voting rights standards.
Arguments Against
Opponents may argue that since the literacy test is already prohibited by federal law and cannot be implemented, a constitutional amendment is unnecessary and uses legislative resources on a symbolic rather than practical matter. Some may also question whether the amendment process itself is the best use of time and voter attention on election day.
AI-generated analysis based on bill text. Always verify with official sources at ncleg.gov. This is not legal or political advice.
Sponsors
Primary Sponsor
Representative · District 92
Primary Sponsor
Representative · District 25
Primary Sponsor
Representative · District 56
Primary Sponsor
Representative · District 47
Cosponsors (59)
Representative · District 114
Representative · District 73
Representative · District 29
Representative · District 72
Representative · District 49
Representative · District 88
Representative · District 70
Representative · District 86
Representative · District 8
Representative · District 71
Representative · District 103
Representative · District 18
Representative · District 13
Representative · District 83
Representative · District 102
Representative · District 41
Representative · District 57
Representative · District 32
Representative · District 42
Representative · District 11
Representative · District 100
Representative · District 91
Representative · District 61
Representative · District 98
Representative · District 12
Representative · District 17
Representative · District 45
Representative · District 2
Representative · District 21
Representative · District 109
Representative · District 104
Representative · District 101
Representative · District 34
Representative · District 112
Representative · District 99
Representative · District 30
Representative · District 52
Representative · District 93
Representative · District 48
Representative · District 27
Representative · District 24
Representative · District 115
Representative · District 50
Representative · District 58
Representative · District 9
Representative · District 54
Representative · District 97
Representative · District 64
Representative · District 39
Representative · District 63
Representative · District 35
Representative · District 89
Representative · District 44
Representative · District 116
Representative · District 36
Representative · District 5
Representative · District 76
Representative · District 7
Representative · District 74