A movement to set stricter rules at the ballot box has run up against a wave of skeptical court rulings, dealing a setback to a Republican-backed initiative to tighten identification requirements and other voting procedures.

In separate cases, five federal courts recently have blocked voter-ID and other restrictions enacted by nearly party-line votes in recent years in North Carolina, North Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. The court rulings have determined the laws would harm minority voters, who are less likely to possess the required credentials, in violation of the Constitution or the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

…

Federal courts are finding that demonstrable burdens on minority populations outweigh speculation about fraud. “Courts may see themselves as the last and most necessary guarantors of access to the ballot,” said Stanford law professor  Nathaniel Persily.