Federal judge rules law criminalizing noncitizen voting unconstitutional

On October 1, 2026, Miami-based U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz dismissed a federal criminal case against Chelsea Cox, a Jamaican national accused of illegally voting in the 2020 election. Leibowitz ruled that the 1996 federal law criminalizing noncitizen voting is unconstitutional, declaring that only states, not Congress, have the authority to set voter qualifications. The ruling deals a blow to the Trump administration's crackdown on noncitizen voting, which has seen at least 60 people charged since January 2025. The Justice Department immediately moved to appeal the decision.

Arguments over state versus federal authority

• ▪U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz stated that the State of Florida has the authority to prohibit and prosecute Chelsea Cox's alleged illegal voting in the 2020 election under state law
• ▪U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz ruled that under the U.S. Constitution, only states have the authority to set voter qualifications for federal elections, not Congress

Charges against Chelsea Cox

• ▪Records show Chelsea Cox voted in federal elections from 2012 to 2020, but only her 2020 vote was within the statute of limitations under 18 U.S.C. § 611
• ▪Chelsea Cox was charged in October 2025 with a misdemeanor for illegally voting in the 2020 general election
• ▪Chelsea Cox entered the United States as a tourist in 1999, overstayed her visa the next year, and used a fraudulent U.S. Virgin Islands birth certificate to register to vote in Florida in 2012

Scope of noncitizen voting prosecutions

• ▪The U.S. Justice Department has charged at least 60 people with noncitizen voting since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025
• ▪A Reuters investigation published on July 19, 2026, found that Chelsea Cox was one of 129 people charged under the federal noncitizen voting law, 18 U.S.C. § 611, with no defendants accused of conspiring to sway an election

Noncitizen voting claims

• ▪On July 21, 2026, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill stated that about 400 noncitizens voted after a software error mistakenly registered approximately 6,600 people in 2023-24
• ▪President Donald Trump claimed on July 16, 2026, without evidence, that 278,000 noncitizens were registered to vote in California, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania

Debatable claims

• ▪Congress has the constitutional authority to criminalize noncitizen voting
• ▪The federal crackdown on noncitizen voting is necessary for election integrity
• ▪The federal government should deport noncitizens who vote illegally