Great news from the Supreme Court for a change: a late-night order blocking the implementation of Wisconsin’s Republican-sponsored voter ID law.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday night blocked Wisconsin from implementing its new voter identification law on the eve of next month’s elections.

In a related action, a district court judge in Texas ruled that state’s voter ID law is racially discriminatory and violates the Voting Rights Act. Both states had claimed the new rules were intended to crack down on in-person voter fraud — voters impersonating others at the polls.

The Supreme Court’s order reverses a trend established by the justices in two other cases from Ohio and North Carolina, in which they allowed voting restrictions imposed by Republican legislatures to take effect.

The right wing in Texas also suffered a major setback in their voter suppression efforts today: Federal Court Blocks Texas Voter ID Law, Calling It a ‘Poll Tax’.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Texas struck down the state’s voter ID law on Thursday, calling the measure an “unconstitutional poll tax” that creates “an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote” intended to discriminate against Hispanic and African-American citizens.

In a 147-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos, an appointee of President Barack Obama confirmed to the bench in 2011, ruled that the law passed by Texas legislators and signed by Gov. Rick Perry (R) took an “unorthodox” approach they knew would have a disparate impact on minority voters. The law would require voters to produce government-issued identification before casting a ballot.