US judge rules law criminalizing noncitizen voting unconstitutional

October 2, 2026 at 12:49 AM2 min

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A U.S. federal judge dismissed a criminal case against a Jamaican national accused of voting illegally, ruling the 1996 statute unconstitutional. The decision by Miami-based Judge David Leibowitz applies only to Chelsea Cox's case but marks the first federal court finding against the law. It deals a blow to the Trump administration's crackdown on noncitizen voting ahead of November's midterm elections.

Key Facts

U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz dismissed the federal case against Chelsea Cox, a Jamaican national in Florida charged with voting illegally in the 2020 election.
The ruling is the first time a federal court has found the 1996 law criminalizing noncitizen voting unconstitutional.
Cox was one of 129 people charged under the law known as 'voting by an alien,' according to a Reuters analysis published in July.
The decision does not bind judges in other cases but could be persuasive, according to the report.

The Ruling

Miami-based U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz dismissed the federal criminal case against Chelsea Cox on Thursday. Cox, a Jamaican national living in Florida, was charged in October with illegally voting in the 2020 election. Leibowitz found that the 1996 statute criminalizing noncitizen voting violates the U.S. Constitution. The ruling applies only to Cox's case and does not bind judges in other prosecutions.

Political Context

The Trump administration has made the crackdown on noncitizen voting a cornerstone of its election integrity efforts ahead of November's midterm elections. Republicans are fighting to retain majorities in both houses of Congress. Trump has portrayed noncitizen voting as part of a broad Democratic Party conspiracy to dilute Republican power. Critics say the effort exaggerates a rare problem and could undermine confidence in election results, echoing Trump's false claims that fraud cost him the 2020 election.

Legal Arguments

Lawyers for Cox argued that under the U.S. Constitution only states can set voter qualifications, not Congress. Every state requires U.S. citizenship to vote, but Cox's lawyers said it was up to Florida, not the Department of Justice, to prosecute her for violating that requirement. The ruling appears to mark the first time a federal court has found the 1996 law unconstitutional.