Editorial: With New North Carolina Voting Laws Comes Lawsuits

Editorial: With New North Carolina Voting Laws Comes Lawsuits

Add Rosanell Eaton’s name to the list of those who might be affected by North Carolina’s new voting bill, which starts but doesn’t end with provisions requiring certain forms of photo ID at the polls.

The 92-year-old Eaton is a plaintiff in a lawsuit announced on Monday after North Carolina’s Republican Gov. Pat McCrory signed the bill, passed at the end of the legislative session with the support of GOP super-majorities in the state House and Senate.

A legal complaint filed by the Advancement Project, a national civil-rights group, on behalf of the North Carolina NAACP and Eaton contends that her ability to vote has been threatened by the law. Eaton’s name on her certified birth certificate does not match the name on her driver’s license or the name on her voter registration card, which could complicate her efforts to obtain the valid ID card the new law requires. Eaton, an African-American, first registered in the 1940s despite intimidation, according to the Advancement Project.

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