In early November 2025, state authorities in Kansas announced formal charges against Jose Ceballos — mayor of the small town of Coldwater, Kansas — on suspicion of election‑fraud offenses, just one day after voters reelected him. The indictment filed by the office of Kris Kobach, the Kansas Attorney General, alleges three counts of “voting without being qualified” and three counts of “election perjury.” Prosecutors say that although Ceballos has been a registered voter — and has repeatedly cast ballots — he is not a U.S. citizen and therefore ineligible under state law.
According to officials, Ceballos is a lawful permanent resident originally from Mexico. While he has reportedly held a green card for decades and only applied for U.S. citizenship earlier this year, he remained a noncitizen. The vote allegedly occurred in the 2022 general election, the 2023 local elections, and the 2024 primary — three separate ballots. Under Kansas law, only U.S. citizens who are “qualified electors” may vote; casting ballots as a noncitizen constitutes a felony.
The timing of the charges immediately after Ceballos’s election victory — when he reportedly secured roughly 83% of the vote — has attracted particular attention. Authorities say the disruption was triggered by upgraded citizenship‑verification tools implemented recently by U.S. immigration authorities, including the SAVE program, which flagged the discrepancy between Ceballos’s voter registration and his noncitizen status. In the press release announcing the indictment, the Attorney General’s office emphasized that these tools were “useful” to identify potential election‑fraud cases.
Local leaders in Coldwater responded with cautious concern. The Coldwater City Council convened a special meeting shortly after the charges were announced, expressing the need to keep city operations running “smoothly” while respecting due‑process. The council acknowledged that, depending on the outcome of the court proceedings — and whether Ceballos can successfully prove U.S. citizenship — the legitimacy of his election could be challenged, and his continued tenure as mayor could be at risk.
The case has broader significance beyond the town of Coldwater. It underscores national debates over election integrity, the enforcement of citizenship requirements for voting, and the reliability of longstanding voter‑registration records. As the state Attorney General put it, the law is built on trust: by registering and signing poll‑books, individuals assert under oath that they are “qualified electors,” meaning U.S. citizens. The charges against Ceballos allege that this trust was violated. Critics of past enforcement efforts note that until recently, systems to cross‑check citizenship status against immigration databases were limited — a gap this case claims to have exploited.
As court proceedings begin, Coldwater — a rural town of only a few hundred residents — finds itself thrust into the spotlight. The mayor’s legal fate could hinge on whether he can rectify his citizenship status in time, or convince the court he was eligible all along. If convicted, he faces potential prison time of over five years and fines (some reports mention up to $200,000), and possibly removal from office. At the same time, the case raises difficult questions about how many other long‑standing voter registrations — especially in small towns — might warrant scrutiny, and whether recent improvements in verification systems will lead to a widespread reevaluation of who is really eligible to vote and run for public office.
