A judge for the US District Court for the District of North Dakota [official website] on Monday barred [opinion, PDF] the state from enforcing its voter identification law. Judge Daniel Hovland issued a preliminary injunction, finding that the strict law had made it difficult or impossible for many Native Americans to vote. Under previous voter ID legislation, voters could present many different documents or swear an oath affirming their identity. However, under the 2013 law, acceptable documentation was limited to a valid state driver’s license, a nondriver state ID, a state-issued long-term care certificate or a tribal identification card, and swearing an oath was no longer an option. Hovland wrote:

The public interest in protecting the most cherished right to vote for thousands of Native Americans who currently lack a qualifying ID and cannot obtain one, outweighs the purported interest and arguments of the State. It is critical the State of North Dakota provide Native Americans an equal and meaningful opportunity to vote in the 2016 election. No eligible voter, regardless of their station in life, should be denied the opportunity to vote.

North Dakota Secretary of State Alvin Jaeger has said the state does not plan to appeal [NYT report] and that the November election will be conducted under the pre-2013 standards.

North Dakota’s law is the latest to be blocked by a court. Last week, voter restrictions were overturned in Kansas, Wisconsin and North Carolina [JURIST reports]. In June a federal judge ruled that Ohio’s elimination of the state’s early in-person voting [JURIST report] was unconstitutional and in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In May a federal judge ruled that Virginia’s voter ID law, which requires that voters have a valid form of ID either before voting or within three days after voting, is constitutional [JURIST report]. In February the Maryland Senate overrode a veto by Governor Larry Hogan to pass a bill that will allow felons to vote [JURIST report] before they complete parole or probation.