A federal judge in Miami has dismissed charges against Chelsea Cox, a Jamaican national accused of illegally voting, ruling that the federal law used to charge her is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge David S. Leibowitz found that only states, not Congress, have the authority to set voter qualifications.

Cox was charged in October 2025 with a misdemeanor for allegedly voting in the 2020 election. The charge was based on a federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 611, which prohibits non-U.S. citizens from voting in federal elections. Judge Leibowitz’s decision marks the first time a court has declared the statute unconstitutional.

Judge Leibowitz stated that under the U.S. Constitution, controlling voter qualifications is a power reserved to the states. He noted that while Florida state prosecutors might pursue charges against Cox, the federal government cannot. Leibowitz also criticized the Justice Department’s defense, calling their reliance on a Supreme Court case ‘weak.’

The Justice Department has appealed the ruling but declined to comment immediately. The law under scrutiny criminalizes voting by noncitizens but does not pertain to laws against making false claims of citizenship, a separate tool used by the department.

This is an unusual criminal case. It rests upon a forty-year-old federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 611, that prohibits the act of voting in a federal election by a non-U.S. citizen.

In a statement, Cox’s attorney, Bruce Udolf, said his client is relieved by the ruling. Udolf added that Cox recently underwent a medical procedure, complicating the case’s next steps, including possible deportation efforts by the Trump administration.

Court documents revealed that federal prosecutors alleged Cox overstayed her U.S. visa and obtained a Florida driver’s license using a fraudulent birth certificate. They claimed she voted in several federal elections, leading to her recent charges.

The Justice Department argued that the Constitution gives the federal government a role in overseeing elections and an interest in excluding noncitizens from voting. However, Judge Leibowitz consulted legal expert Paul Clement, former solicitor general during George W. Bush’s administration. Clement’s analysis supported the view that the statute exceeded congressional authority, emphasizing that only states determine voter qualifications.