In 1996, Congress passed a law making it a crime for a non-citizen to cast a vote in a U.S. election. On October 1, U.S. District Court Judge David Leibowitz, a Biden appointee, ruled that the U.S. Constitution does not permit Congress to pass laws on voter qualifications. Instead, he wrote, only states may do so. He cites Article One of the original U.S. Constitution. Therefore, he ruled, the federal government cannot prosecute the defendant in this criminal case for casting a vote even though she was not a citizen. U.S.A. v Cox, s.d. of Florida, 0:25cv-60249.
The decision is very interesting, not only because of the subject matter, but also the judge has a knack for writing in an accessible, somewhat entertaining manner. The question that makes this case difficult is that in 1970, in Oregon v Mitchell, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a congressional law that said the voting age should be 18 (this was before the passage of the 26th Amendment in 1971). But the U.S. Supreme Court “majority” in that case was splintered as to rationale. Four justices thought the 14th amendment compelled letting 18-20 year-olds vote, and one Justice, Hugo Black, had a completely different rationale. That causes problems for using Oregon v Mitchell as a precedent. Here is the Opinion.
The same constitutional question is pending in several other criminal cases around the country. But this is the first to be decided.