ROUND ROCK, TX -- A federal judge blocked Texas from banning interpreters at polling places -- a case that was sparked in Round Rock -- contending the measure violates the U.S. Voting Rights Act.

The Friday ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman of Austin stems from a lawsuit filed by India-born Mallika Das who brought along her son to a Round Rock polling site to act as an interpreter, according to a report in the Austin American-Statesman. Das was accompanied by her son because of her limited English proficiency in reading the ballot in a 2014 election. Williamson County officials prohibited the son, Saurabh Das, from helping translate for his mother. The basis for their ban was a state election law requiring interpreters to be registered voters in the same county in which they assist with interpretations, the newspaper noted in its report.

Registered in Travis County, the mother was forced to vote without her son's assistance. But the judge ruled in a summary judgment that the residency clause was in violation of a section of the Voting Rights Act safeguarding those needing linguistic assistance for a variety of reasons -- from blindness to illiteracy.

The Organization of Chinese Americans-Greater Houston filed the suit on the woman's behalf. According to its website, the group is a nonprofit dedicated to "...dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans." Sadly, Das passed away before the case was resolved. Given her death, state attorneys sought to have the case dismissed, the Statesman reported, but the judge requested the motion. Moreover, the state was ordered to pay the organization's legal fees and court costs, the Statesman reported.

The case marks the second blow against Texas within a week on issues related to limitations placed on voting. In another lawsuit,

This past Wednesday, another federal judge approved a plan that allows people to vote without a photo ID. Conservative state lawmakers have long held held firm in requiring a photo identification in order to vote, citing their need to protect against voter fraud in Texas (even while incidences of such fraud are negligible to the point of being nearly non-existent, as past research has shown).

That ruling came a mere month after a federal appeals court found the Texas Voter ID law -- passed by the Legislature in 2011 -- resulted in racial/ethnic discrimination, in violation of the Voting Rights Act. In July, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the state's voter ID law — widely considered the most restrictive in the country — as being in non-compliance with the Voting Rights Act. Last week's ruling dictates that people without a photo ID in Texas will be able to sign a declaration stating they are a U.S. citizen. To vote, they will be able to present proof of residence -- a utility bill, bank statement or paycheck, as the Texas Tribune noted in its report.