Judge says federal law banning noncitizen voting is unconstitutional

Key Points:

• A federal judge in Miami dismissed the criminal case against Chelsea Cox, a Jamaican national charged with illegally voting, ruling that the federal law under which she was charged, 18 U.S.C. § 611, is unconstitutional because only states can set voter qualifications.
• Judge David S. Leibowitz stated that Congress lacks constitutional authority to prohibit noncitizens from voting in federal elections, and that state prosecutors, not the federal government, have jurisdiction to prosecute such cases under state law.
• The ruling marks the first time a court has declared this decades-old statute unconstitutional and could undermine the Justice Department's efforts, initiated under the Trump administration, to prosecute noncitizen voting, which experts say is rare.
• The Justice Department has moved to appeal the decision, emphasizing its view that the federal government has a significant role in overseeing federal elections and excluding noncitizens from voting.
• Legal analysis from conservative attorney Paul Clement supported the judge's conclusion that voter qualifications are determined by states, not the federal government, highlighting historical precedents of states allowing noncitizen voting.