Every person presenting himself for registration shall be able to read and write any section of the Constitution in the English language.
History Note. - The provisions of this section are similar to those of the first sentence of Art. VI, § 4, Const. 1868, as added in 1900 and amended in 1920.
Defeated Amendment Proposal. - Session Laws 1969, c. 1004, s. 1, proposed to strike from this Article all of § 4, and to renumber § 5 through 10 as §§ 4 through 9. The amendment failed of adoption at the general election held Nov. 3, 1970.
CASE NOTES
Editor's Note. - The cases cited below were decided under former Art. VI, § 4, Const. 1868, as amended.
The language of this section is mandatory. Allison v. Sharp, 209 N.C. 477, 184 S.E. 27 (1936).
Validity of Literacy Requirement. - Use of the literacy test as a prerequisite to registering to vote has the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color where it places an onerous burden on the black citizens for whom a county has maintained separate and inferior schools. Gaston County v. United States, 395 U.S. 285, 89 S. Ct. 1720, 23 L. Ed. 2d 309 (1969).
The provision of a former G.S. 163-28 which required all persons applying for registration to be able to read and write any section of the Constitution as an educational qualification to the right to vote was held authorized by this Article, and, since it applied alike to all persons who presented themselves for registration to vote, it made no discrimination based on race, creed or color, and therefore did not conflict with U.S. Const., Amends. XIV, XV, or XVII. Lassiter v. Northampton County Bd. of Elections, 248 N.C. 102, 102 S.E.2d 853 (1958), aff'd, 360 U.S. 45, 79 S. Ct. 985, 3 L. Ed. 2d 1072 (1959).
Former G.S. 163-28, requiring the registrar (now chief judge) to determine whether or not an individual was able to read and write any section of the Constitution in the English language, was a reasonable provision, as the registrar (now chief judge) was the logical person to carry out the provisions of the Constitution. Allison v. Sharp, 209 N.C. 477, 184 S.E. 27 (1936).