A political storm erupted in Kansas after authorities charged Coldwater Mayor Joe Ceballos, a lawful permanent resident from Mexico, with allegedly casting ballots in multiple elections despite not being a U.S. citizen. The noncitizen voter case is now fueling renewed calls for stricter election safeguards.
Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Attorney General Kris Kobach, both Republicans, announced six criminal charges against Ceballos in Comanche County. The charges include perjury and voting without being qualified, covering elections held in 2022, 2023, and 2024. If convicted, Ceballos could face more than five years in prison.
“Noncitizen voting is a real problem. It is not something that happens once in a decade. It is something that happens fairly frequently,” Kobach said. He added that investigators uncovered “unassailable evidence” that Ceballos voted unlawfully.
Federal and state law require officials to maintain accurate voter rolls, but Kobach has long argued that current verification systems are vulnerable. The Coldwater mayor’s case, he said, underscores how the system depends heavily on trust. “In large part, our system right now is based on trust… In this case, we allege that Mr. Ceballos violated that trust,” Kobach stated.
Kobach, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, has championed voter ID laws and tighter citizenship verification. He noted that while holding office as a noncitizen is not a criminal offense, it raises serious concerns about election integrity and local governance.
State officials recently began using a federal immigration database to cross-check Kansas voter rolls, a move expected to reveal additional violations. The charges against Ceballos, who appeared on the ballot for re-election this week, remain pending as officials await certified results.
