Justice Department Appeals Miami Judge's Ruling That Federal Noncitizen Voting Ban Was Unconstitutional in Broward Case

The U.S. Justice Department is asking the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to overturn a Miami federal judge's ruling that the federal ban on noncitizen voting was unconstitutional as applied to a Jamaican national accused of voting in Broward County in 2020. U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz dismissed the misdemeanor case against Chelsea Cox on Oct. 1. The ruling does not strike the law down nationwide, and it does not make it legal for noncitizens to vote in Florida, where the state constitution and state criminal law separately bar it.

The appeal puts a South Florida prosecution at the center of a national fight over who decides voter qualifications, Congress or the states. It reaches the 11th Circuit, which hears federal appeals from Florida, Georgia and Alabama, as the Justice Department is bringing more noncitizen voting cases than at any point in recent years and as Floridians head to the polls on Nov. 3.

What the judge ruled

In a 31-page opinion, Leibowitz held that Section 611 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, which makes it a federal misdemeanor for a noncitizen to vote in an election for federal office, was unconstitutional as applied to Cox. He reasoned that the Constitution generally gives the states, not Congress, the power to decide who is eligible to vote, the Miami Herald reported. He wrote that Section 611 "is a voter qualification statute" and that Congress lacked the authority to enact it, according to reports on the order.

The judge limited the ruling. He declined to decide Cox's broader argument that the law is unconstitutional on its face, meaning in every case, and ruled only on the statute as applied to her. His decision binds only her case and does not control other federal judges, even within the Southern District of Florida.

Leibowitz also said the outcome did not depend on whether Cox did what prosecutors alleged. The Herald reported that he wrote that one can assume the defendant committed every element of the crime. Because every state already requires citizenship to vote, he reasoned, prosecuting the conduct is a matter for the states. Referring to Florida's own laws against noncitizen voting, he wrote that "Florida can and does," Al Jazeera and Reuters reported.

Before ruling, Leibowitz asked Paul Clement, who served as U.S. solicitor general under President George W. Bush, to file an independent brief. Clement concluded that Congress likely overstepped its constitutional bounds when it enacted Section 611 because states, not the federal government, set voter qualifications, according to Yahoo News.

Leibowitz was appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate 64 to 33 in February 2024, with support from both of Florida's Republican senators at the time, the Herald reported.

The case against Chelsea Cox

Federal prosecutors charged Cox in October 2025 with one misdemeanor count of voting by an alien. They alleged she entered the United States from Jamaica as a tourist in 1999, overstayed her visa and in 2012 used a fraudulent U.S. Virgin Islands birth certificate to obtain a Florida driver's license and register to vote. The single count accused her of voting early in Broward County on Oct. 29, 2020, in an election that included races for president and the U.S. House. The charge carried a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Prosecutors also alleged that she had voted in earlier federal elections, but the statute of limitations had run on those votes and on a possible voter registration charge, the Herald reported. Cox has not been convicted of any crime.

Her attorney, Bruce Udolf, said Cox was gratified and relieved by the ruling, according to Yahoo News. He said she recently underwent a medical procedure and is working with the government on next steps, including whether the administration will seek to deport her. The dismissal ended her federal prosecution for now but did not resolve her immigration status.

The government's appeal

The Justice Department filed its notice of appeal on Oct. 2, the day after the case was closed in Leibowitz's court, the Herald reported. The case now moves to the 11th Circuit, where the government will ask a panel of appellate judges to reverse the dismissal and reinstate the charge.

In the district court, prosecutors argued that the Constitution gives the federal government a significant role in protecting federal elections and the privileges of federal citizenship. They cited the Supreme Court's 1970 decision in Oregon v. Mitchell as evidence that Congress holds at least some power over qualifications for federal elections. Leibowitz found that no single rationale in that case won a majority of the justices, so it did not control, and described the government's main precedent as very weak, according to reports on the order.

Cox's defense argued that the states alone set the qualifications of voters in federal elections. The defense cited the Supreme Court's 2013 decision in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council, which held that Congress can regulate how federal elections are conducted but not who may vote in them.

Reaction

The ruling drew sharp criticism from Republicans. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah called it "insane" and predicted it would be overturned, the Herald reported. Hans von Spakovsky of the conservative Heritage Foundation said the opinion was wrong, arguing that Congress's power over naturalization allows it to exclude noncitizens from federal elections. A Department of Homeland Security official predicted on social media that the 11th Circuit would reverse the decision.

Some defense lawyers see the case heading higher. Daniel Rashbaum, a Miami defense attorney not involved in the case, told the Herald he expected the dispute to reach the U.S. Supreme Court and predicted the justices would agree with Leibowitz.

What it means for Florida voters

For Florida voters, the practical rules do not change. Noncitizens cannot legally vote in any Florida election. In 2020, Florida voters approved Amendment 1, which changed the state constitution to say that only a citizen of the United States who meets the other requirements may vote, replacing language that said every citizen may vote. The amendment passed with about 79% of the vote and carried every county, well above the 60% threshold needed.

State criminal law backs that up. Under section 104.15 of the Florida Statutes, voting while knowing one is not a qualified elector is a third-degree felony, and a separate provision, section 104.155, addresses unqualified noncitizen voters and anyone who aids or solicits them. Leibowitz's reasoning rests on that structure: the state, not the federal government, sets and enforces voter qualifications. The ruling does not address a separate federal law that makes it a crime to falsely claim U.S. citizenship in order to register or vote, which the Justice Department has also used in recent cases.

The decision matters for how federal prosecutors pursue cases in Florida and across the 11th Circuit. The Justice Department has charged at least 60 people with voting by an alien since January 2025, and about 45 similar cases remain pending nationwide, with at least four other defendants raising the same constitutional challenge, according to Reuters. A Reuters review of 129 people charged with the offense since 2021 found that none was accused of conspiring to sway an election, backing a candidate or being paid to vote. Most were lawful permanent residents who registered by mistake or on incorrect advice from an election worker or government clerk, Reuters reported.

What's next

The appeal will proceed on the 11th Circuit's normal briefing schedule, with the government filing its opening brief and Cox's lawyers responding before a three-judge panel considers the case. No ruling is expected before the Nov. 3 election. Whatever the panel decides, the losing side could ask the full 11th Circuit to rehear the case or petition the U.S. Supreme Court.

If the 11th Circuit affirms Leibowitz's reasoning, its decision would bind federal trial courts in Florida, Georgia and Alabama and could limit federal prosecutors to other charges, such as false claims of citizenship, in noncitizen voting cases in those states. If it reverses, the charge against Cox would return to the Southern District of Florida. In the meantime, Section 611 remains on the books and enforceable everywhere outside Cox's case.