Overview
- U.S. District Judge David S. Leibowitz in Miami dismissed the federal prosecution of Chelsea Cox on Thursday and held that 18 U.S.C. § 611 is unconstitutional as applied because the Constitution reserves voter-qualification power to the states.
- The Justice Department filed an immediate appeal, so the decision affects only Cox’s case for now and does not bind other courts while appellate judges consider the constitutional question.
- Leibowitz wrote that Congress may regulate the mechanics of federal elections but cannot set who is qualified to vote, citing Articles I and II, the 17th Amendment, and the Supreme Court’s distinction in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council.
- Although the opinion is limited to this defendant, it could complicate dozens of similar federal prosecutions and raise fresh legal hurdles for proposals such as the SAVE America Act that would impose nationwide proof-of-citizenship rules.
- State citizenship requirements remain intact and state prosecutors or immigration authorities can still act, and Cox faces uncertain next steps including the government’s interest in deportation while her counsel cites her declining health.