By Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief

Raleigh, N.C. — Among the state lawmakers, county commissioners and sheriffs on this fall's ballot, North Carolina voters will be asked whether to amend the state constitution up to six times.

The six proposed amendments are the most on a single ballot since the 1970s, according to elections officials.

"A lot of people," said Diana Powell, a community activist working the polls Wednesday on the first day of early voting, "they don't even understand what these amendments are about."

Powell's sense is correct, according to a recent poll by Meredith College.

"Most North Carolinians are unfamiliar with the content of all six amendments," said David McLennan, a political science professor at Meredith and director of the poll.

The proposed amendments are as follows:

• A requirement that voters provide photo identification at the polls
• A reduction in the maximum allowable income tax rate
• An expansion of crime victims' rights
• A guarantee of the right to fish and hunt in the state
• Two proposals to shift the power to fill judicial vacancies and to appoint the members of the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement from the governor to lawmakers.

McLennan said some will likely pass because they deal with popular issues, such as voter ID, victims' rights and limiting taxes. But he said he's not sure voters really understand how each one would work or what consequences they might have.

"For example, the cap on the personal income tax, although it sounds good – nobody wants to pay more taxes – it does put the state in a bind potentially in an economic downturn, when revenue is not coming in and the state has to decide to cut services or increase taxes," he said.

• Amendments shifting power to legislature 'devious and mischievous,' former governors say
• All former NC chief justices voice opposition to 2 amendments

The proposals on appointing judges and members of the state elections board are part of a power struggle between Republican lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. They're opposed by all five living former governors and six former Supreme Court chief justices – Republicans and Democrats.

After a court battle this summer, judges ordered lawmakers to rewrite the two proposed amendments, saying they were misleading. The new versions still aren't exactly clear, and polling results are mixed.

"Who advertises, which sides push for that, whether the former governors are going to come out again against those two amendments, I think both of those are in play," McLennan said.