Miami judge declares federal noncitizen voting law unconstitutional
U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz in Miami ruled that a federal statute criminalizing noncitizen voting exceeds Congress’s constitutional authority, dismissing the case against Florida resident Chelsea Cox.
In Miami, U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz ruled that the federal law criminalizing voting by noncitizens is unconstitutional because the Constitution grants voter-qualification power to the states, not Congress. He dismissed the federal case against Chelsea Cox, a Florida resident born in Jamaica who was accused of illegally voting in the 2020 presidential election. Leibowitz emphasized that every state already requires U.S. citizenship to vote, making the federal statute redundant and beyond congressional authority.
The decision is limited to Cox’s case and does not bind other courts, though roughly 45 comparable cases are pending across the country. The ruling comes amid a broader DOJ effort, spurred by President Donald Trump’s claims, that noncitizen voting threatens election integrity, with more than 60 people charged since January 2025. Cox’s lawyer, Bruce Udolf, welcomed the outcome and asked that authorities refrain from seeking her deportation due to her health concerns.
Why it matters
The ruling curtails federal overreach in voter-qualification rules, influencing dozens of pending noncitizen-voting cases.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTBoth camps report the judge’s ruling that the federal noncitizen voting law is unconstitutional, but left-leaning coverage highlights the constitutional allocation of voter-qualification power to states and the DOJ’s Trump-spurred effort, while right-leaning coverage stresses the constitutional limit on Congress and frames the decision as a blow to Trump’s agenda.
LEFT
Frames the ruling as a constitutional clarification that voter-qualification authority belongs to the states and notes the broader DOJ effort driven by Trump’s claims.
RIGHT
Frames the ruling as a constitutional limit on congressional power and portrays it as a setback for Trump’s election-fraud campaign.
The left emphasises
- the Constitution grants voter-qualification power to the states, not Congress
- the federal statute is redundant and beyond congressional authority
- the decision occurs amid a DOJ effort spurred by President Trump’s claims
The right emphasises
- the Constitution reserves authority over voter eligibility for the states
- the ruling is a blow to the Trump administration’s campaign against alleged election fraud
- the 1996 law was signed by President Clinton and passed by a Republican-controlled Congress
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