Federal Judge Declares Noncitizen Voting Ban Unconstitutional

WHO:

CBS News - U.S. District Judge David S. Leibowitz ruled on the case.

CBS News - Chelsea Cox, a Jamaican national, was the individual charged with illegally voting.

CBS News - Bruce Udolf is Cox's attorney.

WHAT:

Fox News - A federal judge ruled that the law criminalizing noncitizen voting is unconstitutional.

CBS News - The judge dismissed charges against Chelsea Cox, who was charged with a misdemeanor for illegally voting in 2020.

CBS News - The ruling found that the federal law prohibiting noncitizen voting, 18 U.S.C. § 611, is unconstitutional.

CBS News - The Justice Department moved to appeal the ruling shortly after it was issued.

WHERE:

CBS News - The ruling was made in Miami, Florida.

WHEN:

CBS News - Chelsea Cox was charged in October 2025.

CBS News - The ruling was issued on a Thursday, with the article referencing October 2, 2026.

WHY:

CBS News - Judge Leibowitz stated that only states can set voter qualifications, not Congress, as the reason for declaring the law unconstitutional.

CBS News - The ruling could impact the Justice Department's efforts to charge noncitizens with voting, which President Trump has alleged is common.

HOW:

CBS News - The judge's decision was based on a 31-page order analyzing the constitutionality of the federal statute.

CBS News - The judge noted that the Justice Department's defense of the statute relied on a "very, very weak" Supreme Court case.

CBS News - The judge consulted Paul Clement, a former solicitor general, who provided an analysis indicating that Congress likely overstepped its constitutional bounds in enacting §611.

(UPDATED October 3, 2026 16:33 UTC)

In a significant ruling from Miami, Florida, U.S. District Judge David S. Leibowitz declared that the federal law criminalizing noncitizen voting is unconstitutional, leading to the dismissal of charges against Chelsea Cox, a Jamaican national who was accused of illegally voting in 2020. The judge emphasized that only states have the authority to set voter qualifications, not Congress, and his decision was supported by a detailed analysis that criticized the Justice Department's defense of the statute as relying on a "very, very weak" Supreme Court case. Following the ruling, the Justice Department announced plans to appeal, which could affect their efforts to prosecute noncitizens for voting, a claim that President Trump has previously asserted is widespread.