A judge appointed by President Joe Biden just dismissed a federal case. The case involved a noncitizen who voted in the 2020 election. U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz made the ruling. He said the federal government broke the Constitution. This decision has shocked many conservatives. They want to know who really controls the ballot box.
Judge Leibowitz wrote a thirty-one page opinion. He focused on the text of the Constitution. He argued that states alone decide voter qualifications. He said this power belongs to the states, not Congress. This view challenges a 1996 federal law. That law criminalizes voting by noncitizens in federal elections. The judge called the law unconstitutional as applied here.
The defendant was Chelsea Cox. She is originally from Jamaica. She voted in the 2020 presidential election. She was not a U.S. citizen at the time. The Trump administration had prosecuted her. They sought to enforce election integrity laws. The judge threw out those federal charges. Florida can still bring state charges against her. But the federal case is dead for now.
Conservative lawmakers reacted quickly and with anger. Senator Mike Lee of Utah co-wrote the SAVE Act. He called the ruling insane on social media. He said it proves Democrats need the SAVE Act. He claimed activist judges are trying to destroy voting laws. The SAVE Act is currently stalled in the Senate. It is unlikely to pass before the midterms.
Legal experts disagree with the judge’s logic. Hans von Spakovsky works for Advancing American Freedom. He told Fox News Digital the ruling is wrong. He pointed to Article I of the Constitution. That section gives Congress power over naturalization. He said Congress can control what noncitizens do here. This includes barring them from voting.
The case will likely move to the Eleventh Circuit. Conservatives expect the higher court to reverse this. The legal battle over voter rolls continues. The money trail leads to who controls the rules. The states say they hold the power. The federal government says it does too. The courts will decide who is right.