A Biden-appointed judge is being labeled an "activist judge" by conservative critics after ruling that the federal government's application of a law barring noncitizens from voting in elections violates the Constitution in a federal criminal case.In a 31-page ruling, U.S.District Judge David Leibowitz of the Southern District of Florida dismissed federal charges against Chelsea Cox, a woman originally from Jamaica who voted in the 2020 presidential election, despite not being a U.S.
citizen.The ruling comes as the Trump administration has intensified efforts to prevent noncitizens from voting, including through federal prosecutions and attempts to verify citizenship on state voter rolls, sparking legal battles with Democratic-led states and voting-rights groups.
President Donald Trump's election integrity efforts have been driven in large part by his and his allies' belief that the 2020 election was "stolen" — an unproven claim he continues to maintain.Leibowitz ruled that the Constitution gives states — not Congress — the authority to determine who qualifies to vote in elections, effectively ruling that a provision of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) criminalizing noncitizen voting in federal elections is unconstitutional as applied to Cox."The Constitution commits to the States, and the States alone, the general power to set voter qualifications in federal elections," Leibowitz wrote in his ruling."This is clear from both the text of the document and the debates at the Constitutional Convention in 1787."WATCH: MIKE LEE EXPLODES ON VOTING ERROR THAT 'KEEPS HAPPENING' AS HUGE NUMBER OF NONCITIZENS FOUND ON ROLLSPROVO UT - NOVEMBER 08: Voters cast their ballots at the Utah County Justice and Health center on November 8, 2022 in Provo, Utah.
After months of candidates campaigning, Americans are voting in the midterm elections to decide close races across the nation.(Photo by George Frey/Getty Images) (George Fr...