The county offices, the three constitutional amendments, and what each one decides here.
Boone has no town races this year. No council, no mayor. Those come back in 2027. So the ballot you get is everything above the town line, and it is long.
What you see depends on your address, and in Watauga that is truer than usual. State laws passed in 2023 and 2024 changed how county commissioners and school board members get elected. Each seat now belongs to its own district, and only the people who live there vote on it. Someone asked a federal judge to block the new districts before this election. The judge said no. They apply this year. Pull your sample ballot from the state's lookup before you go. Below is what each office does in Watauga, who is running, and what the three amendments would change. Candidates run alphabetically by last name, with party where the ballot shows one.
The sheriff runs the county jail and handles law enforcement outside the towns' own police departments. Darin Church (R) and Len (LD) Hagaman, Jr. (D) are running. The Appalachian profiled the contest in The Race for Watauga County Sheriff.
The board writes the county budget and sets the property tax rate. It is also where local money for Watauga schools comes from. Two of the five seats are up, and only voters who live in each district vote on its seat. The county posts district maps and precinct lists.
District 1 covers the Boone 1, 2 and 3 precincts and part of Brush Fork. Adam Hege (D) and Rick Woods (R) are running.
District 2 covers the New River 1 and 3 precincts and part of New River 2. Savva Kostis (R) and Ray Russell (D) are running.
The Appalachian profiled both races, The Race for Watauga County Board of Commissioners, District 1 and The race for Watauga County Board of Commissioners, District 2.
The board sets school policy, hires the superintendent and goes to the county commissioners for money. Districts 1 and 4 are up, and the same district-only voting applies. No party is listed for school board candidates.
District 1 has Yolanda Adams and Ellen Lamont. District 4 has Chad Cole and Megan (Chayyim) Kornhauser.
One N.C. Supreme Court associate justice seat is up. Anita Earls (D) and Sarah Stevens (R) are running. Three N.C. Court of Appeals seats are up. Seat 1 has John S. Arrowood (D) and Michael C. Byrne (R). Seat 2 has George Cooper Bell (R) and Tobias (Toby) Hampson (D). Seat 3 has Craig Collins (R) and Christine Marie Walczyk (D). The state's judicial voter guide covers the statewide judges.
Locally, Andrew Brooks (D) and Eric F. Eller (R) are running for District Court judge in District 35. Matthew Rupp (R) is the only candidate for Superior Court judge, and Seth Banks (R) is the only candidate for district attorney. For Clerk of Superior Court, Holly Fehl (D) and Charles M. Haynes (R) are running.
Three people are running for two seats on the Watauga Soil and Water Conservation District board, and you pick two. The race is nonpartisan. The candidates are Aaron Grig, David Scott and David Williams. The Appalachian profiled the race in The Race for Watauga County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor.
U.S. Senate has Shannon W. Bray (Libertarian), Roy Cooper (D), Michael Dublin (Green) and Michael Whatley (R). In U.S. House District 5, Virginia Foxx (R), Chuck Hubbard (D) and Robert B. Luffman (Libertarian) are running.
Watauga is in N.C. Senate District 47, where Ralph Hise (R) and Frank Patton Hughes III (D) are running. The county is split between N.C. House Districts 87 and 93, so your precinct decides which you see. District 87 has Iris Bender (D) and Destin Hall (R). District 93 has Ray Pickett (R) and Charlie Wallin (D).
Raleigh has written Boone's rules before. In 2014 the legislature passed a local law, the Boone Act, that ended the town's power over zoning on land just outside its limits, a power called extraterritorial jurisdiction. Boone sued. A three-judge panel struck the law down in 2015, and the state Supreme Court reversed that in 2016, so it stands. At the time, Watauga County had no zoning ordinance of its own, so land outside town went from regulated to not. That same year, the Republican-majority county elections board left an App State campus site out of its early voting plan. A judge ruled the plan unconstitutional, the State Board of Elections added the student union site in October 2014, and it is on this fall's list too.
Each one needs a majority of the votes cast on that question. They change the constitution, so undoing one later takes another amendment, not an ordinary vote.
The state income tax cap changes nothing on day one. The rate is 3.99% now, and state law already schedules it to fall to 3.49% in 2027. The amendment would cap it at 3.5%, down from the constitution's current 7%, and raising it later would take another statewide vote. Supporters call it a promise kept. Opponents say it ties the state's hands in an emergency. We covered it in No Town Races. Plenty on the Ballot.
This one requires the legislature to limit how much local governments can raise property tax levies. It sets no number. The limits, and any exceptions, would be written later by lawmakers. Supporters argue it gives families stability. Opponents argue one rule can't fit every county.
Other states have tried different versions, according to the UNC School of Government. New York limits yearly increases in total property tax levies to 2%. South Carolina limits increases in local tax rates to population growth plus inflation. Florida limits increases in the appraised value of primary residences to 3%. North Carolina has not proposed a specific limit.
Here is what a limit would touch locally. Watauga County held its property tax rate at 31.8 cents per $100 for 2026-27 on an $87.4 million budget. Watauga County Schools gets $18.5 million of that from the general fund, plus $5.26 million for capital projects. Boone raised its town rate this summer from 40 to 44 cents, in a budget that includes a new public works building, Fire Station No. 4 planning and parking improvements, and it projects $10.76 million in property taxes in a $29.8 million general fund. Whether a limit would have allowed an increase like Boone's depends on a number the legislature has not written.
At the Oct. 1 candidates forum, the commissioner candidates were asked about it. Adam Hege (D) and Ray Russell (D) said they oppose it. Russell said the legislature cannot pass its own budget on time and should not be telling counties how to budget, and he urged a no vote. Savva Kostis (R) said no one can say what the limit would be, that every county would likely go to the highest rate allowed, and that he hopes it does not pass. Rick Woods (R) called the amendment vague and said he expects it to pass and that the commission would deal with the rules once they are written. He did not say whether he supports it. Among the state candidates, Iris Bender (D), Frank Hughes III (D) and Charlie Wallin (D) said they oppose it. Wallin, a former county commissioner, called it a slippery slope. Ray Pickett (R) called it vague and said the details will matter, without saying whether he supports it. Ralph Hise (R) and Destin Hall (R) did not attend, so they were not asked.
The constitution now requires photo ID only for voting in person, and state law already asks mail voters to include a copy of theirs or an exception form. This amendment would put the requirement for every way of voting into the constitution, mail included. Supporters say it protects election security. Opponents say it adds obstacles and doesn't belong in the constitution.
The legislature would still write the requirements and may include exceptions, the same language the 2018 amendment used.
Early voting starts Thursday, Oct. 15, and the marches to the polls run that week. Pull your sample ballot at the state's lookup, read it once at home, and bring it with you. Hours, sites and dates are on our vote page, and How to Vote in the High Country This Fall covers registration and ID.
The Appalachian also put together a sample ballot for Watauga, 2026 midterm voting guide and sample ballot.
Josh Owen edits left917. Send tips and corrections to studio@left917.net.
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