Kansas officials have charged Coldwater Mayor Joe Ceballos with voting while not a U.S. citizen, alleging multiple illegal votes across 2022–2024; Republican leaders Scott Schwab and Kris Kobach say the case highlights flaws in voter rolls and the need for stricter checks. The complaint includes perjury and unqualified voting counts, investigators claim they have strong documentary evidence, and a first court date is set for Dec. 3. This story ties into ongoing debates over voter integrity, citizenship requirements for certain offices, and the use of federal immigration records to clean rolls.
Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Attorney General Kris Kobach announced criminal charges against Joe Ceballos, the mayor of Coldwater. They say Ceballos, a lawful permanent resident from Mexico, voted in elections in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and now faces six counts in Comanche County.
The charges reportedly include perjury and voting without being qualified, offenses that carry a maximum penalty of more than five years in prison. Local officials noted Ceballos served previously on the city council and his name appeared on ballots, while official results from Election Day have not yet been certified.
Attorney General Kobach framed the case as an example of broader problems with citizen eligibility on voter lists and the limits of trust-based registration systems. He told reporters that investigators had “unassailable evidence” against Ceballos and argued the matter speaks to systemic vulnerabilities in how registrations are taken at face value.
Kobach also said city officials like mayors are required by law to be U.S. citizens, a detail he called “worth noting” even though holding municipal office while ineligible is not automatically classified as a separate criminal charge. The focus of the criminal complaint is on the conduct tied to voter registration and votes cast, Kobach explained.
Republican officials pointed to improved cross-checks as a necessary tool, and Schwab and Kobach said they recently began using a federal immigration database to examine voter rolls. That database effort, they contend, will help identify potential noncitizen registrations more frequently and allow prosecutors to pursue cases where evidence supports criminal charges.
Kobach, a longtime advocate for strict immigration enforcement and tighter voting rules, has previously pursued aggressive measures to confirm citizenship at registration. His 2018 effort to require physical proof of U.S. citizenship when registering was struck down in federal court, but he remains vocal that noncitizen voting is a recurring threat, saying, “Noncitizen voting is a real problem. It is not something that happens once in a decade. It is something that happens fairly frequently.”
Legal experts and critics warn that cross-check systems can produce errors and that due process must guide any prosecutions, while supporters argue that enforcement strengthens public confidence in elections. Kobach emphasized trust in the registration system, noting, “In large part, our system right now is based on trust, trust that when the person signs the registration or signs the poll books saying that he is a qualified elector or that he is a United States citizen, that the person is telling the truth.”
The case now moves to the courts, with Ceballos’ first appearance scheduled for Dec. 3 and no public response from him at this stage. For Republicans pressing for tougher voter integrity measures, the charges serve as a rallying point to expand cross-checks and tighten enforcement, while civil liberties advocates will be watching for how evidence and legal standards are applied.
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