Misleading
“A federal judge just made it legal for noncitizens to vote.”
The facts: Noncitizen voting is still illegal. On Oct 2, a federal judge in Miami dismissed one prosecution, U.S. v. Cox, ruling that the federal statute banning noncitizens from voting in federal elections (18 U.S.C. 611) goes beyond the power of Congress because states set voter qualifications. Posts saying noncitizens can now vote are wrong: the ruling applies only to that one case, the Justice Department moved to appeal right away, and voting as a noncitizen remains a crime under state law. Falsely claiming citizenship to register is also still a federal crime under a separate law.
Sources
- CBS News Other source Archived copy