Constitution of North Carolina

Through its history, North Carolina has had three Constitutions: the Constitution of 1776, the Constitution of 1868, and the Constitution of 1971. Constitution of 1776 In the pivotal months leading up to the creation of the Constitution, North Carolina was in a unique position of being governed by a council of safety of only thirteen members. Following this unique position, the Fifth North Carolina Provincial Congress ratified the first constitution, accompanied by a Declaration of Rights, on December 18,1776. The congress debated the Constitution for only 3 days before passing it like law. Prior to independence, the colonial government of NC concentrated power at the top of society. North Carolina had a very strong governing power. Enacting State constitutions would be a very crucial step in the growth of democracy in America. With these new parameters in place, between 62 and 83 percent of the white adult males could vote in most counties of North Carolina. The third demanded equality, although during this time period it would only apply to white men. Article nine, the right to a trial by jury, protection against arbitrary rule. Article 12, the right against unjust seizure, similar to the later fourth amendment of the U.S. Bill of Rights. Article 15, declaring freedom of the press. Article 17, the right to bear arms. Something that is heavily debated over today was something not debated at all in this time. The right to bear arms was seen as necessary for the defense of the state. Lastly, Article 19, calling for religious freedom, but this had limits. Office holders still had to be of Protestant Christian religion. These are some highlights of the Declaration of Rights from North Carolina in 1776. Featuring 25 sections total, it would be expanded over time. Convention of 18611862 The Convention of 18611862 was called to revise the constitution to remove North Carolina from the United States. The procedure used to amend the constitution did not need a vote of the people. Constitution of 1868 In 1865, Governor William W. Holden called for a Conference to write a new Constitution; it was rejected by a popular vote. Two years later, they reconvened. The new Constitution gave more power to the people and to the governor. "For its time, it was a progressive and democratic instrument of government." Convention of 1875 A convention was held in 1875. It was attended by George Lawrence Mabson. Constitution of 1971 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 study outlined a vastly improved and easily ratifiable document. The draft constitution logically organized topics and omitted obviously unconstitutional sections. The language and syntax was also updated and standardized. The study separated from the main document several amendments that it felt were necessary, but were potentially controversial. The main document passed the General Assembly in 1969 with only one negative vote in seven roll-call votes. On November 3, 1970, the proposed Constitution of 1971 was approved by a vote of 393,759 to 251,132. Since the Constitution of 1971, there have been over twenty amendments. The majority of these amendments extend the rights of citizens, or extend the government the ability to issue bonds. One notable exception was in 2012, when an amendment was added to prevent recognition of same-sex marriage. The following are significant amendments made since the 1971 constitution: :*Prohibiting all capitation and poll tax. :*Omitting the limitation on property tax of $0.20 per $100 valuation. :*Creating a state income tax to be computed on the same basis as the federal income tax :*Allowing the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to serve two consecutive terms (previously, office holders were limited to one term). :*Requiring the state to run a balanced budget. :*Requiring judges to be lawyers. :*Adding Victims Rights to (and expanding and clarifying the said rights in) the Declaration of Rights. :*Giving the Governor the veto power. :*Prohibiting a person convicted of a felony from holding the office of county sheriff. :*Defining a marriage between one man and one woman to be the only legal domestic union to be recognized by the state. (See North Carolina Amendment 1.) Executive Organization Act 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. This law lead to the creation of 19 principal offices or departments, including the 10 members of the North Carolina Council of State, elected by the voters (governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, attorney general, and commissioners of agriculture, labor, and insurance) and the nine member North Carolina Cabinet departments headed by secretaries selected by the governor, and (since 2017) consented to by the Senate. ==Summary==

The current North Carolina Constitution contains a Preamble and 14 articles. Each of the articles covers a different area, with the last article including all miscellaneous topics. Each article is further divided into sections. The constitution incorporates constitutional amendments into the document, unlike the US Constitution, which only appends amendments. Preamble 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. Article I – Declaration of Rights Each of the 37 sections of Article I outline a separate recognized right. Many of the sections give more depth to the rights covered by the United States 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. Section 38, added in 2018, is the newest addition to this article. This section declares the right to hunt and fish. Article III – Executive The governor is vested with all executive authority in Article III. 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, in addition to the governor and lieutenant governor. This article also defines and mandates a balanced budget. • Defines marriage as between one man and one woman (see also: North Carolina Amendment 1). This section was declared unconstitutional by federal courts in 2014. ==Infeasible provisions==

As per the Federal Supremacy Clause, all Federal law and the Constitution of the United States overrule the North Carolina Constitution. There are several provisions in the current North Carolina Constitution that may conflict with federal law or the US Constitution. 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. • Article 6, section 8 disqualifies from office any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God. However, in 1961, the federal Supreme Court, in Torcaso v. Watkins threw out a similar provision in the Maryland Constitution on the grounds that it violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the federal Constitution. The First Amendment bars Congress from passing any law "respecting an establishment of religion," and longstanding precedent holds that it is binding on the states under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In 1972, North Carolina Attorney General Robert Morgan opined that the provision likely did not comply with the First Amendment and could not be enforced. On December 7, 2009, Cecil Bothwell was sworn in as Asheville City Councilman, and was revealed to be an atheist. Former NAACP president H. K. Edgerton threatened to file a lawsuit against the city. • Article 6, section 4 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. However, several attempts to remove this provision have failed. On April 25, 2017, the N.C. House voted unanimously to pass House Bill 148, a bipartisan bill to start the process of repealing the literacy requirement for voting in the state. In addition, federal and state court decisions have narrowed the scope of at least two sections of the constitution. Article 2, sections 3 & 5, sub-section 2 state that counties must not be divided when drawing state legislative districts. 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. Section 2 of Article 11 ("Death Punishment") limits executions to "murder, arson, burglary, and rape". Per Kennedy v. Louisiana, the last three are inapplicable. 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. ==See also==