Last Friday, Wisconsin became the fifth state this month to overturn voter ID and proof-of-citizenship laws disproportionately affecting minorities.

U.S. District Judge James Peterson said as much in a scathing decision questioning the argument that legislation would prevent voter fraud. While voter ID laws are not facially unconstitutional, he said ones put forth by Republicans did nothing to entrust the state's electoral process.

"The Wisconsin experience demonstrates that a preoccupation with mostly phantom election fraud leads to real incidents of disenfranchisement, which undermine rather than enhance confidence in elections, particularly in minority communities," Peterson wrote. "To put it bluntly, Wisconsin's strict version of voter ID law is a cure worse than the disease."

Among the proposals struck down were limits on early voting rights, a requirement stating people must live in their voting ward 28 days before an election, and an unconstitutional prohibition on fax or email absentee ballots. Peterson said they violated First, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendment rights.

The biggest problem, according to Peterson, is that individuals who cannot get proper identification by Election Day would not be allowed to cast ballots.

"It has disenfranchised a number of citizens who are unquestionably qualified to vote, and these disenfranchised citizens are overwhelmingly African American and Latino," Peterson said.

The Supreme Court Decision's Domino Effect

Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court removed a provision in the 1965 Voting Rights Act requiring any process changes at the state level to be approved by the federal government. One reason given their Shelby County vs. Holder verdict was voting discrimination has decreased in areas historically known for racism.

Several Republican-led states rushed to implement strict identification measures while removing provisions making it easier to register, such as same-day and online registration, and pre-registration for teens near 18 years of age. Multiple studies conducted since 2013 found a lower voter turnout among Latinos and African-Americans in states where laws had been enacted; Latino turnout dipped by an average of 9.3 points during primary elections, compared to 8.6 for blacks.

The Associated Press found identification card prices went up in 17, some charging as much as $58. Alabama closed nearly three dozen Department of Motor Vehicle locations throughout the state, primarily in poor and diverse communities.

In Wisconsin, residents who did not meet voter ID requirements - only valid driver's licenses and federal ID's were accepted - during April's primary election were denied. This excluded expired driver's licenses and passports, student ID's without expiration dates, and tribal ID's from Native Americans without land in Wisconsin.

"The Wisconsin decision further confirms that the types of laws that have appeared across the United States since the Shelby decision are nothing more than cynical political strategy used to keep minorities from voting," LULAC National Director Brent Wilkes told Latin Post.

"As voter ID laws continue to be overturned across, we applaud this positive step towards healing the wounds of disenfranchisement that historically prevented minority communities from exercising their constitutional right to vote," Wilkes said.

A Summer of Change

Courts in seven states have modified voting laws over the last three months.

In Ohio, two federal judges have deemed a number of proposed voting laws unconstitutional. One said the state cannot eliminate early voting and another said absentee and provisional ballots must be counted, even if the ballot includes minor mistakes.

Only July 20, a federal appeals court in Texas ruled that the state's laws directly impact black and Hispanic communities. One week later, a three-judge panel in North Carolina overturned similar laws that banned same-day and early registration.

A Kansas judge recently ruled that citizens did not have to show proof of citizenship when they registered. On Monday, a federal judge in in North Dakota blocked a law requiring a photo ID, one that discouraged Native Americans.

"The undisputed evidence in the record clearly demonstrates there are likely thousands of eligible voters in North Dakota who lack a quality ID," wrote District Judge Daniel L. Hovland. "The undisputed evidence produced to date supports the conclusion that some of those voters will simply be unable to obtain the necessary ID, no matter how hard they try."