Kansas Mayor Faces Charges for Alleged Illegal Voting as State Leaders Crack Down on Election Violations

Kansas officials announced criminal charges this week against Joe Ceballos, the mayor of Coldwater and a longtime local public servant, alleging that he voted in multiple elections despite not being a U.S. citizen.

Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Attorney General Kris Kobach revealed that six felony counts have been filed against Ceballos, a lawful permanent resident originally from Mexico. The charges accuse him of participating in elections in 2022, 2023, and 2024—years in which, prosecutors say, he was ineligible to vote. Kansas law requires voters to be U.S. citizens, a standard that applies to both local and statewide elections.

Ceballos previously served on the Coldwater City Council before becoming mayor, a position he still holds. According to Fox News, the case originated within state-level voter integrity efforts that require routine maintenance of voter registration rolls. Kobach, who has built a national reputation advocating for stricter election security and immigration policies, said the state relies on several data sources to verify citizenship—though he acknowledged such systems are imperfect.

“Noncitizen voting is a genuine issue,” Kobach said while discussing the charges. “It does not occur once every decade. It happens more often than people realize.” His remarks echoed broader concerns among Republicans who argue that illegal voting threatens confidence in elections.

The criminal complaint reviewed by Fox News Digital includes accusations of providing false information under oath and knowingly voting without eligibility—charges that together carry a potential prison sentence of more than five years.

Kobach, who previously served as Kansas’s Secretary of State, has long been at the forefront of legal battles involving voter verification. In 2018, he lost a high-profile federal case after attempting to enforce a Kansas rule requiring documentary proof of citizenship during voter registration. The court ruled that the requirement exceeded what federal law allows, noting that Kansas had produced minimal evidence that noncitizen voting was widespread enough to justify such stringent measures.

In the current case, Kobach declined to specify how investigators discovered that Ceballos allegedly lacked U.S. citizenship. However, he insisted that state officials have “unassailable evidence” establishing the violation. He also pointed out that municipal officeholders—mayors included—must be U.S. citizens, though he said this detail does not constitute a criminal offense and does not factor into the current charges.

Ceballos appeared on the ballot again this year seeking another term as mayor, but as of this week, the official election results had not been certified.

Kobach emphasized that the integrity of the election system relies heavily on trust. “Our system depends on individuals being honest when they sign registration forms or poll books affirming they are citizens,” he said. “In this case, we allege that Mr. Ceballos broke that trust.”

Both Kobach and Schwab confirmed that Kansas has begun using a federal immigration database to cross-check voter rolls. They believe the tool will improve the accuracy of voter records and help identify other potential irregularities.

Ceballos is scheduled to make his first court appearance on December 3.

The charges come at a moment when national political tensions are already heightened by a federal government shutdown that has stretched nearly 40 days. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Wednesday urging bipartisan negotiations to resolve the stalemate. Their appeal came hours after Democrats made notable gains in state and local races across several blue-leaning states.

Despite the public call for compromise, Senate Democrats have repeatedly blocked the Republican-led funding proposal—voting against it 14 times—arguing that the bill does not sufficiently address their priorities.

Meanwhile, Axios reported that negotiators are tentatively shaping a potential framework to end the shutdown, though agreement is far from guaranteed. The emerging plan includes three components: a Senate vote on Affordable Care Act tax credit provisions, a short-term continuing resolution to extend government funding, and separate appropriations for military construction, agricultural programs, and legislative branch operations.

Before the shutdown began, the House had passed a measure to fund the government through November 21. If the Senate reaches a deal now, the House would need to reconvene to approve the revised legislation and extend the funding deadline, potentially bringing the lengthy impasse to a close.

As both state and federal political battles intensify, the case against Ceballos adds yet another layer to the national debate over election security—a debate that remains deeply divisive and far from resolved.