AG charges newly reelected Kansas mayor, says he isn't a citizen

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Coldwater Mayor Jose "Joe" Ceballos, who was reelected on Tuesday, was charged by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach the next day.

In a news conference Wednesday, Kobach said Ceballos was facing criminal charges for three counts of voting without being qualified and three counts of election perjury. Both are non-person felonies.

"He is not a United States citizen," Kobach said. "He is a legal permanent resident of the United States and a citizen of Mexico."

Kobach said if Ceballos is convicted, the crimes can carry a maximum of 68 months in prison and a fine of up to $200,000.

Before the press conference, the Coldwater City Council held a special meeting called by Mayor Ceballos, the City of Coldwater announced on Facebook.

"While the recent allegations involving the mayor are understandably concerning, we will allow the proper legal process to take its course before making any further comments," council President Britt Lenertz said. "It’s important that we respect both due process and the integrity of our local government."

Ceballos was served a summons on the charges to appear in Comanche County court on Dec. 3.

During the conference, Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab was also present. He said more "noncitizen voting" could be uncovered by a new national citizenship data system built by the Trump administration.

Kansas recently committed to use the database to confirm U.S. citizenship of people registered to vote.

"They could be a legal resident but not a citizen, and we want to make sure that gets clarified," Schwab said. "If they voted, it is a crime. We have run that system, and we are currently verifying. We don't want any false positives, but attorney general, be prepared to be busy."

Schwab said the state is currently working on 10 years of voter roll maintenance.