Kansas Mayor Charged with Illegal Voting
Officials in Kansas announced on Wednesday that they have filed criminal charges against Joe Ceballos, the mayor of a small town, for allegedly voting in multiple elections despite not being a U.S. citizen.
The charges came from Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Attorney General Kris Kobach, both Republicans. They claim that Ceballos, a legal permanent resident originally from Mexico, voted in elections held in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Ceballos, who currently serves as the mayor of Coldwater, has also been a member of the City Council.
There’s a legal requirement for states to periodically update their voter registration lists, often referred to as voter rolls.
Kobach, known for his hardline stance on immigration and his association with Donald Trump, defended the methods used to check for non-citizens on the voter rolls, stating that it’s a standard process relying on external databases.
“Unpopular voting is a serious problem. It’s not just something that occurs every decade; it happens quite frequently,” Kobach remarked. This reflects a common viewpoint among Republicans who see voter fraud as a significant issue.
Ceballos is facing charges that include perjury and voting while ineligible, both of which could lead to a prison sentence exceeding five years, according to a complaint obtained by Fox News. He did not provide any comments when approached.
Kobach had previously served as Kansas’ secretary of state and is known for advocating stricter immigration policies and voter ID regulations.
In a noteworthy case from 2018, he lost a major federal lawsuit aimed at enforcing a law that required voters to present tangible proof of U.S. citizenship during registration.
The court had concluded that the law imposed requirements beyond what was necessary to verify citizenship and violated federal election regulations, stating there was little evidence supporting claims of voter fraud by non-citizens before or after the law was enacted.
Kobach didn’t go into detail about how state authorities became aware of Ceballos’ alleged non-citizenship but claimed they possess “unshakable evidence.” He added that city officials, including mayors, are legally required to be U.S. citizens, a point he found significant, though he noted it was not a criminal offense.
Ceballos was on the ballot for re-election on election day, but official results have not been certified yet.
“Currently, our system relies heavily on trust—trust that individuals providing their information are being truthful about their eligibility to vote,” Kobach explained. “In this instance, we allege that Mr. Ceballos breached that trust.”
Kobach and Schwab mentioned that they recently started utilizing federal databases to compare voter rolls against immigration records, which they aim to use to uncover further voting violations.
Ceballos’ initial court appearance is scheduled for December 3.
