Kansas Mayor Charged with Election Fraud a Day After Winning Reelection: 'He Is Not a United States Citizen'
A small Kansas town is facing a political scandal after its recently re-elected mayor was arrested the very next day — charged with illegally voting in multiple elections despite not being a U.S. citizen.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced that Coldwater Mayor Jose Ceballos is facing three felony counts of voting without being qualified and three felony counts of election perjury, according to KSN-TV.
“He is not a United States citizen,” Kobach said on Wednesday. “He is a legal permanent resident of the United States and a citizen of Mexico.”
If convicted, Ceballos could face up to 68 months in prison and $200,000 in fines.
Kansas law requires elected officials to be qualified electors, which includes being a U.S. citizen. Kobach confirmed that, legally, Ceballos is not eligible to hold office, despite having already served two City Council terms and being first elected mayor in 2021.
State officials say the case is likely not isolated. Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab said the state is now uncovering additional instances of noncitizens on voter rolls, thanks to a federal verification tool first authorized during President Donald Trump’s first term.
“They could be a legal resident but not a citizen, and we want to make sure that gets clarified,” Schwab said. “If they voted, it is a crime.”
The charges stem from Ceballos allegedly voting in the 2022 and 2023 general elections and the 2024 primary, according to the Kansas Reflector.
Schwab noted that until the federal verification system was available, state officials did not realize how many potential noncitizens may have voted:
“We’re currently verifying. We don’t want any false positives, but attorney general, be prepared to be busy as we go through these and find out potential positives of people who are non-U.S. citizens that have voted,” Schwab said.
“I was never really a big believer this happened. I always came from the angle of, let’s prove it’s not happening, and then we get the data, and it’s important we clean this up.”
Kobach pushed back against claims that the number of noncitizen voters is too small to matter.
“I would argue that even when it doesn’t affect an outcome, it still effectively takes the vote away or cancels the vote of a U.S. citizen,” he said.
The Coldwater City Council released a brief statement on Facebook urging calm and continuity:
“At this time, our focus remains on ensuring that city operations continue to run smoothly and that the needs of our community are met. While the recent allegations involving the mayor are understandably concerning, we will allow the proper legal process to take its course before making any further comments. It’s important that we respect both due process and the integrity of our local government,” the post said.