MASSIVE Voting Scandal — Foreign Mayor Exposed

Sign reading Vote Here in a polling station

A Mexican national serving as mayor in Kansas has been criminally charged for allegedly casting illegal ballots in multiple elections, exposing dangerous gaps in our election integrity systems that allowed a noncitizen to hold public office.

Story Highlights

Jose Ceballos, mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, faces six criminal charges including illegal voting and perjury
The Mexican lawful permanent resident allegedly voted in 2022, 2023, and 2024 elections despite being ineligible
Kansas AG Kris Kobach announced charges one day after Ceballos won reelection as mayor
Case exposes vulnerabilities in voter registration systems that rely on self-attestation rather than verification

Noncitizen Mayor Charged with Election Fraud

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach filed six criminal charges against Jose “Joe” Ceballos, the Mexican national serving as mayor of Coldwater, Kansas. Ceballos, a lawful permanent resident, allegedly voted illegally in the 2022, 2023, and 2024 elections despite not being a U.S. citizen. The charges include voting without being qualified and perjury, highlighting serious breaches of election law that allowed an ineligible person to participate in American democracy and hold elected office.

The timing of the indictment proves particularly striking, as Kobach announced the charges on November 6, 2025, just one day after Ceballos won reelection as mayor. This sequence raises alarming questions about how thoroughly our election systems screen candidates and voters for citizenship eligibility. Kansas law explicitly prohibits noncitizens from voting and requires elected officials to be U.S. citizens, yet Ceballos managed to circumvent these protections repeatedly.

Trust-Based System Enables Illegal Voting

The Ceballos case exposes critical weaknesses in voter registration processes that rely heavily on self-attestation rather than rigorous verification. Most states, including Kansas, operate on a trust-based system where individuals simply declare their citizenship status without providing substantial proof. This approach creates opportunities for noncitizens to register and vote illegally, undermining the fundamental principle that only American citizens should determine election outcomes and governance.

Kobach, who has long advocated for stricter voter ID and citizenship verification measures, emphasized the broader implications of this case. “Noncitizen voting is a real problem,” he stated. “It is not something that happens once in a decade. It is something that happens fairly frequently.” This assessment challenges claims that noncitizen voting is extremely rare and suggests systemic vulnerabilities that compromise election integrity nationwide.

Local Government in Crisis

Coldwater’s city council now faces an unprecedented governance crisis as their reelected mayor confronts serious criminal charges. Council President Britt Lenertz held emergency meetings and issued statements emphasizing due process while attempting to maintain local government stability. The situation creates uncertainty for Coldwater residents who voted for Ceballos, unaware of his ineligible status and the ongoing investigation into his voting history.

This case demonstrates how election integrity failures cascade beyond individual voting violations to threaten the legitimacy of local governance itself. When ineligible individuals can not only vote but also hold elected office, it undermines public trust in democratic institutions and raises questions about what other safeguards may be failing. The prosecution proceeds in Comanche County while Ceballos remains mayor, creating an untenable situation for a community that deserves leaders who are legally qualified to serve.