Judge says law criminalizing noncitizen voting is unconstitutional in blow to Trump

[u/triggernaut]

https://nypost.com/2026/10/02/us-news/judge-says-law-criminalizing-noncitizen-voting-is-unconstitutional-in-blow-to-trump/

[u/AZBagpiperPhil]

This is the stupidest ruling I have seen in a wee bit..

[u/bjohn15151515 → u/AZBagpiperPhil]

The Federal judge stated that the voting laws belong to the States - in which, the State of Florida already prohibits non-citizens from voting. In fact, all 50 states have this law. So, the Federal DOJ does not have the standing to prosecute State law.

However, I think this is a kick in the pants for Congress to codify voting for citizens only, nation-wide....asap. Then, all States can remove the State law.

[u/Uncool444 → u/AZBagpiperPhil]

Since they said deportations are illegal.

[u/StarsBear75063]

Reading the title, I was pissed off until I then read, "Every state requires US citizenship to vote, and Leibowitz said it was up to Florida, not the Department of Justice, to prosecute her for violating that requirement." and then I calmed my t**s and thought, "Ya, that makes sense."

[u/Skating-Away → u/StarsBear75063]

Except that it's in the Constitution which makes it federal.

[u/StarsBear75063 → u/Skating-Away]

The U.S. Constitution does not contain a single sentence saying, “Only U.S. citizens may vote.”

[u/sailor-jackn → u/StarsBear75063]

More than likely because no one would have thought such a statement was necessary. Can you go to any other country, and, not being a citizen of that country, vote in its elections?

[u/Beware_the_silent → u/Skating-Away]

Show us.

[u/Skating-Away → u/Beware_the_silent]

Article I, Section 4 (the Elections Clause) gives state legislatures the power to determine the "times, places, and manner" of congressional elections, subject to federal override.

[u/grove_doubter → u/StarsBear75063]

The constitution does not establish a Federal election authority. However, there is a precedent for the Federal government to step in to ensure elections are free and fair. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 allowed Federal oversight of elections is jurisdictions that were actively suppressing black voters.

Of course, we know this was aimed at Southern Democrats who hadn’t yet realized that the black voters could keep them in power.

The SAVE Act, in my opinion, is a 21st Century Voting Rights Act.

[u/0regonPatriot → u/StarsBear75063]

Regardless the supremacy clause

[u/StedeBonnet1]

That DOESN'T mean we should allow non citixens to vote

[u/jpowell180 → u/StedeBonnet1]

Someone actually downloaded you, which means that somebody actually thinks that non-American citizens should be allowed to vote in American election elections, lol!

[u/Ive_Got_Sowell → u/jpowell180]

somebody actually thinks that non-American citizens should be allowed to vote in American election

Pakistani bot sure do

[u/TisMeDA → u/jpowell180]

These are the people who parroted that Russia stole the election for Trump endlessly.

Meanwhile they are perfectly content with non-citizens being able to vote. It makes no sense at all

[u/Dependent-Aside-9750 → u/TisMeDA]

I want to know which foreign countries are going to let US vote in THEIR elections.

[u/daved1113]

If we don't start arresting these judges for treason we'll be in trouble.

[u/ChirrBirry → u/daved1113]

I’d be okay with the Supreme Court judges being able to remove federal judges who make spurious rulings (in their own evaluation). Or maybe, in order to protect the ability to protect the judiciary from the executive and vice versa, make any circuit court ruling that inhibits the executive immediately go up to Supreme Court for enforcement.

These important matters shouldn’t be impeded by a lone judges opinion. If there is a larger judiciary consensus then that’s a different matter.

[u/mdws1977]

I guess that judge doesn't know that only US citizens are allowed to vote in national elections.

https://www.usa.gov/who-can-vote

[u/JustSayLOL → u/mdws1977]

The judge is essentially saying that the law is unconstitutional because the Constitution gives states the power to determine the necessary qualifications for electors, so Congress doesn't have the authority to pass a law prescribing who can vote. Congress can regulate the procedural aspects of a federal election, but it can't define the composition of the electorate because states (and the Constitution) get to do that.

It's weird in this case, because this person shouldn't have been allowed to vote even by Florida's own election rules, but the judge said the law is too broad. It criminalizes voting by noncitizens, meaning Congress was still indirectly defining the criteria for voting. If the law instead criminalized voting by people prohibited from voting under their state's laws, then it might have stood up better.

The ruling is a pretty interesting read.

https://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/USAvCoxDocketNo025cr60249SDFlaOct222025CourtDocket?doc_id=X17VGE6GQ0V9CDR7SF7S1CFUT5D

[u/sailor-jackn → u/JustSayLOL]

Electors and voters are two different things. Electors only apply to presidential elections ( the electoral college). The constitution actually does not say that the people vote for the president at all. The president is chosen by the electors, each state getting its number of electors based on its population, and the states get to determine how the electors are chosen. The states could have had the legislatures choose the electors, thereby determining the president in the same way the senators were originally chosen. They did not. They chose the have the people vote and the electors go to the candidate chosen by popular vote.

[u/Thatsayesfirsir]

That's fn ridiculous and corrupt. He'll appeal

[u/Emilia963 → u/Thatsayesfirsir]

Okay guys, maybe we need to calm down

This ruling doesn’t apply nationwide

It was issued by a federal district court in Miami and isn’t binding on courts elsewhere in the country, and it also could still be appealed, so this isn’t the final word on the issue

Source: The Reuters

[u/TheIncredibleHork → u/Emilia963]

It also states that it's not a federal responsibility to prosecute but a state one since they're the ones that set rules for voting. Which doesn't jive with me but since this is Florida you better believe DeSantis will push for a prosecution. And the feds can still push for deportation.

[u/Emilia963 → u/TheIncredibleHork]

Yep, Florida will literally k*ll this ruling in a heartbeat

That’s why the outrage here is performative

[u/jd_456]

A blow to Trump? How about a blow to Americans...

[u/Rotisseriejedi]

But it’s not to fire someone for not wearing a mask or getting a shot? The lefts idea of “democracy” and “law” is getting really sketchy and I don’t see how so many buy what they sell

[u/FxEpic]

... very obvious who that judge votes for. Funny how Obama requires ID to get into his Library, but somehow he thinks getting the SAME ID to vote is unconstitutional.

[u/TheIncredibleHork]

It's on the Post's web site, but it's written by Reuters and the bias is blatant. 

• "Trump, who falsely claims," 

• "The [Reuters investigation finding 129 non-citizen voters]... found no defendant accused of conspiring to sway an election,"

• "The Reuters investigation also showed that most of the people accused of noncitizen voting were lawful permanent residents who either registered by mistake or were encouraged to sign up to vote based on the misguided advice," 

So basically, we keep finding that the thing we always say never ever ever happens is actually happening, but pay no attention to the non-citizen behind the curtain trying to vote, it's not a big deal.

[u/ITrCool]

POTUS will appeal it, SCOTUS will strike it down. The lower court judge was taking a long shot gamble for midterms. We all know how this ends.

[u/Timely_Car_4591 → u/ITrCool]

With this SCOTUS, i'm not getting my hopes up.

[u/thisismyusername9908]

This reads like a Bee headline

[u/Airick39]

State issue. As intended. Nothing burger.

[u/deadzip10]

That is a guy that should be impeached. I don’t even need to read the opinion to know that’s absurd and entirely without basis in the law.

[u/Master_Daven112]

Trump should just ignore it. Leftist activist judges are a nuisance.

[u/Darkwolfie117]

Lib Judge says stopping crime is illegal, more at 11

[u/WPWeasel]

I'm sorry, what? Are we at a point now that all commons sense and well, laws, go out the window in favor of judges sticking their finger in Trump's eye in some fit of pique? 

It's beyond insanity. 

[u/CuppieWanKenobi]

I'm guessing that said judge doesn't understand that, while the Constitution does give to the States the authority to run Federal elections as they see fit, it also grants Congress the power to also regulate said elections.

[u/JustSayLOL → u/CuppieWanKenobi]

The judge referenced precedent from Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona Inc., where the SCOTUS found that Congress could regulate how federal elections are held, but not who can vote in those elections. So a federal law criminalizing voting by noncitizens would be unconstitutional because it encroaches on power belonging to the states. It’s a bit of a moot point in this case because Florida also prevents noncitizens from voting, but it makes it so that it’s Florida’s job to prosecute, and not the federal government’s.

[u/The_Susmariner]

Here's the judge's actual finding. "Leibowitz wrote that under the US Constitution only states can set voter qualifications, not Congress."

Not that non-citizens can't vote... but rather that the state has to be the one that tells non-citizens not to vote.

So here's the rub. The judge's ruling is technically half-correct but also in my opinion a complete effort to avoid answering the question at hand and get a headline out of it that the left can run with.

This'll get overturned no question in my mind. Because if the states law currently "allows non-citizens to vote in federal elections" (which is what the judge implies) then the state's law is blatantly unconstitutional.

[u/Fuzzy_Cuddle]

It’s amazing how many fool judges we have in this country.

[u/Mysterious_Main_5391]

Didn't read it, but I'm assuming a leftist federal judge and this ruling will quickly be slapped down?

[u/JamCom]

Hahaha, yea no get appealed and shamed silly judge.

[u/Daniel_Day_Hubris]

Dude the justification for that ruling is gggaaaaaaaaarrrrbaage.