Jose “Joe” Ceballos, newly reelected mayor of a tiny Coldwater, Kansas, is facing six criminal counts related to voter fraud for allegedly voting in the state since 2022 despite being a Mexican citizen.
Although the criminal indictment only alleges voter fraud since 2022, Kobach said the mayor had been registered to vote before then.
Ceballos didn’t immediately return a request for comment Friday.
His election may be voided if he is found to be serving unlawfully, according to Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab.
“The election is not over,” Schwab said. “The law says he should not [be seated] because he’s not a lawful elector.”
Ceballos faces three counts of voting without being qualified and three counts of election perjury. The charges are nonperson felonies, which are crimes that do not involve harm to another person.
If convicted, he could spend more than five years in prison and be fined up to $200,000.
His first court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 3, according to Kobach.
Kansas law generally requires that candidates for elected city office be a qualified elector, or eligible to vote, and a resident of the city, according to the attorney general’s office.
Cities also have “home rule” power, which gives city officials the power to decide whether Ceballos is eligible to continue his role as mayor, Kobach’s office said. So Coldwater could still allow him to serve as mayor, provided his victory is certified and he avoids prison on the voting charges.
Ceballos called a special meeting of the Coldwater City Council on Wednesday to discuss the charges.
The council stated after the meeting that it planned to continue business as usual while allowing the legal process to unfold.
Schwab said the Trump administration’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), helps states prevent election crimes.
“I’ve worked with [Kobach] for years on proof of citizenship as a useful tool to root out election crimes,” Schwab said in a statement.
“I’m grateful that President [Donald] Trump implemented the SAVE program to help states and to prevent situations like this,” Schwab said.
USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser said the situation was not surprising.
“From Day 1, the Trump administration has made strengthening the SAVE program a top priority so states can verify that only U.S. citizens are on the voter rolls.”
The federal agency is working with local law enforcement on the case.
