US judge finds law criminalizing noncitizen voting unconstitutional
Leibowitz wrote that under the US Constitution, only states can set voter qualifications, not Congress. Every state requires US citizenship to vote.
A US judge has dismissed a federal case accusing a Jamaican national of illegally voting, ruling that the law criminalizing noncitizen voting is unconstitutional. The ruling, delivered by Miami-based US District Judge David Leibowitz, applies only to the case of Florida resident Chelsea Cox, who was charged in October 2025 with illegally voting in the 2020 election.
This marks a setback for President Donald Trump's administration, which has been pushing to highlight alleged election fraud ahead of the November midterm elections. The Justice Department has charged at least 60 people with noncitizen voting since Trump took office in January 2025, but the judge's decision suggests that the constitutionality of the 1996 law is in question.
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