In what is being cheered by civil liberties advocates as a victory, a federal judge on Thursday ruled that (pdf) Ohio’s cuts to early voting are unconstitutional and in violation of the Voting Rights Act.

The ACLU and ACLU of Ohio field the suit on behalf of the Ohio chapter of the NAACP, the League of Women Voters of Ohio and three churches.

In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Peter C. Economus agreed with the plaintiffs’ argument, stating that the cuts “result in fewer opportunities for African Americans to participate in the electoral process.”

His ruling, the New York Times reports, means the state must “restore early voting during evenings and on at least two Sundays, and to reinstate Golden Week, the first week of early voting in which many African-American churches organize congregants to register and vote on the same day.”