According to AI, the Constitution explicitly prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections, as it designates voting rights to citizens only. While states manage their own election processes, federal laws reinforce this restriction, ensuring that non-citizens cannot participate in elections for federal offices. AI further notes that 18 U.S. Code § 611 prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections. You would think a judge would know that.
On Friday, Breitbart posted an article about a judge in Florida who claims a federal ban on noncitizens voting is unconstitutional. What constitution is he reading?
The article reports:
U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz, appointed to the bench by Joe Biden in 2024, threw out a case against Chelsea Michelle Ann Cox, who knowingly voted despite being a noncitizen in Broward County in 2020.
In his 31-page opinion, Leibowitz claimed that the U.S. Congress overstepped its role by passing a law prohibiting noncitizens from voting because in his view the Constitution maintains that the states are to determine voter eligibility.
Section 2 of the 14th Amendment reaffirms the right of all citizens to vote. Nowhere in any of America’s laws do non-citizens have the right to vote in federal elections. Some localities have given non-citizens the right to vote in local elections, but not in federal elections.
The article concludes:
But Leibowitz claims that the law is a violation of Article I, Article II, and the 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
“When you’re prosecuted based on a law that Congress did not have the authority to pass, the prosecution cannot stand,” he wrote in his opinion.
Federal prosecutors maintain that congressional powers over immigration gives Congress the right to exclude noncitizens from voting. Prosecutors also maintain that a 1970 Supreme Court case validating a law by Congress lowering the voting age to 18 also shows precedent that Congress has the right to affect voting rules in federal elections.
Aside from the legal question, is there any country in the world that allows non-citizens to vote in its elections?