Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and Secretary of State Scott Schwab announced charges against Jose (Joe) Ceballos, the re-elected mayor of Coldwater, alleging he voted multiple times and served in office despite not being a U.S. citizen.
State Charges Filed
The Kansas Attorney General’s Office filed six felony counts in Comanche County—three counts of voting without being qualified and three counts of election perjury.
Each charge is a non-person felony; together they could carry a sentence of more than five years in prison.
“In Kansas, it is against the law to vote if you are not a U.S. citizen. We allege that Mr. Ceballos did it multiple times,” Kobach said. “Voting by noncitizens, including both legal and illegal aliens, is a very real problem. Every time a noncitizen votes, it effectively cancels out a U.S. citizen’s vote.”
Investigators said Ceballos, a legal permanent resident and citizen of Mexico, has been registered to vote since 1990 and sought citizenship earlier this year.
The attorney general’s office said Special Agent Nate Humble and Special Agent in Charge Matt Simpson are leading the investigation, with First Assistant Attorney General Stacy Edwards prosecuting.
Ceballos is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
Federal Verification Cited
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said its Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program helped identify the voter-eligibility issue.
“This situation is absolutely unacceptable and, sadly, no surprise given the years of lax voting security in the United States,” said USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser. “From day one, the Trump administration made strengthening the SAVE program a top priority. SAVE is exposing bad actors and safeguarding the integrity of our elections like never before.”
USCIS said 26 states already use or are finalizing agreements with the SAVE system to verify immigration status and citizenship before voter registration.
Kansas Officials Praise New Tools
Secretary of State Scott Schwab credited cooperation with federal agencies for improving voter-roll accuracy.
“We now have tools, thanks to the current White House, that we haven’t had in over 10 years,” Schwab said. “We can check through the SAVE program to find out if folks end up on our voter rolls. They could be legal residents but not citizens. We want to make sure that gets clarified.”
City Response
Coldwater City Council President Britt Lenertz said Ceballos convened a special meeting following the announcement.
“Our focus remains on ensuring that city operations continue to run smoothly and that the needs of our community are met,” Lenertz said. “We will allow the proper legal process to take its course before making any further comments.”
City officials said Ceballos may finish his current two-month term but cannot remain mayor unless his citizenship is approved.