A Federal Case Ends in Florida
On October 1, 2026, U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz of the Southern District of Florida dismissed a federal criminal case against Chelsea Cox, a Jamaican national. Federal prosecutors charged Cox in October 2025 under 18 U.S.C. § 611, a 1996 law that makes it a misdemeanor for a noncitizen to vote in elections for president, vice president, or members of Congress. Cox’s attorney welcomed the dismissal, which followed the judge’s ruling that the federal statute is unconstitutional.
The Voting History Behind the Charge
According to the case details, Cox entered the United States as a tourist in 1999 and remained after her visa expired the following year. She later used a fraudulent U.S. Virgin Islands birth certificate to obtain a Florida driver’s license and registered to vote in 2012. She cast ballots in federal elections from 2012 through 2020. Only her 2020 vote fell within the statute of limitations, so that was the vote at issue when federal prosecutors charged her.
Why Leibowitz Rejected the Federal Charge
Judge Leibowitz, who was nominated by President Biden, held that the Constitution gives states, not Congress, the power to set voter qualifications. He noted that Florida already prohibits and can punish the conduct alleged in the case. The opinion asked, “Can the State of Florida prohibit and punish the exact conduct Defendant Cox allegedly engaged in here?” The judge answered that Florida can and does. He then concluded that “the Constitution does not authorize Congress to legislate voter qualifications for federal elections.”
The Federalism Question at the Center
The ruling does not declare that Florida must permit noncitizens to vote. Instead, it says the federal government cannot use 18 U.S.C. § 611 to prosecute the alleged conduct because Congress lacks the constitutional authority to create that voter qualification rule. That distinction is the heart of the decision. The case was brought by federal prosecutors, but the judge said Florida, rather than the federal government, must enforce that requirement under state law. In other words, the courtroom fight was not only about the ballot. It was also about which level of government gets to police the conduct.
🚨 BREAKING: One Biden Judge just found the federal law that makes it illegal for NONCITIZENS TO VOTE as UNCONSTITUTIONAL
SUPREME COURT, NOW!
U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz in Florida ruled in favor of a JAMAICAN national because it was federal prosecutors who brought the… pic.twitter.com/6hjTII5iFZ
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 1, 2026
Leave a Comment