Reelected Mayor Charged With Felonies for Voting Without Citizenship [WATCH]

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced criminal charges this week against Coldwater Mayor Jose (Joe) Ceballos, alleging that the recently reelected official cast ballots in multiple U.S. elections despite not being a United States citizen.

The charges were filed on November 5 in Comanche County District Court, one day after Ceballos won another term as mayor.

According to the attorney general’s office, Ceballos faces six felony counts — three counts of voting without being qualified and three counts of election perjury — for allegedly voting in the November 2022, November 2023, and August 2024 elections.

Jose Ceballos-Armendariz, 54, an alien from Mexico, committed SEVERAL FELONIES when he illegally voted in numerous elections in the United States. Ceballos-Armendariz is the mayor of Coldwater, Kansas.

This is not the first time Ceballos-Armendariz broke our nation’s laws. In… https://t.co/U7ysfvyejE

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) November 13, 2025

Ceballos is a legal resident of the United States but is not a U.S. citizen. Under both federal and Kansas law, noncitizens are prohibited from voting in any U.S. election.

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All six charges are categorized as nonperson felonies. If convicted, Ceballos could face more than five years in prison.

Kobach emphasized that the case highlights a broader issue of noncitizen voting occurring in the United States.

“In Kansas, it is against the law to vote if you are not a U.S. citizen. We allege that Mr. Ceballos did it multiple times,” Kobach said at the announcement.

“Voting by noncitizens, including both legal and illegal aliens, is a very real problem. … Every time a noncitizen votes, it effectively cancels out a U.S. citizen’s vote.”

Federal immigration officials echoed those concerns.

As someone from Kansas, it’s appalling that a non-American citizen could not only vote but get elected in our state.

When an illegal votes, it cancels out your vote.

This is what happens when democrats are in charge.

Kansas deserves leaders who put Americans first! pic.twitter.com/gF7YIp6zXq

— R. Philip Sarnecki (@Philip_Sarnecki) November 6, 2025

Matthew Tragesser, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the situation was “absolutely unacceptable and, sadly, no surprise given the years of lax voting security in the United States.”

He noted that the Trump Administration has expanded states’ access to tools used to detect noncitizen voting, including improvements to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program.

The program allows state agencies to verify an individual’s immigration and citizenship status when determining eligibility for services or voter registration.

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab credited the current administration for improving state-level efforts to identify noncitizen voters.

“We now have tools, thanks to the current White House, that we haven’t had in over 10 years,” Schwab said.

“That we can check through the SAVE program, to find out if folks end up on our voter rolls. And they could be a legal resident, but they’re not a citizen. We want to make sure that gets clarified.”

The charges against Ceballos follow a separate case earlier this year involving a noncitizen public official in Iowa.

In September, authorities arrested Ian Andre Roberts, the superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, after discovering he was an illegal alien with a final order of removal issued in May 2024.

BREAKING: A senior ICE official tells @FoxNews that today, ICE arrested the Superintendent of Des Moines, Iowa Public Schools, Dr. Ian Andre Roberts, who ICE says is an illegal alien from Guyana & and active ICE fugitive with a deportation order since May 2024. Fox is told Dr.… pic.twitter.com/623WGDpqZb

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) September 26, 2025

Roberts, a native of Guyana and former Olympic athlete, allegedly fled from immigration officers attempting to take him into custody.

According to ICE, Roberts sped away in his vehicle before abandoning it and attempting to escape on foot.

Officers, with help from the Iowa State Patrol and a police dog, located him in a wooded area near the road.

A search of Roberts’ vehicle led to the discovery of a loaded firearm, a fixed-blade hunting knife, and $3,000 in cash.

ICE also confirmed that Roberts had a weapons arrest in 2020, although the outcome of that case remains unclear. At the time of his arrest, Roberts was listed as an active voter in Maryland.

🚨Holy crap. DHS just released more info on the Iowa school superintendent and illegal alien Ian Andre Roberts. He has a very long, violent criminal record, combined with immigration fraud. He also voted in elections. pic.twitter.com/lZDeRJKmnw

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) October 3, 2025

Both cases have intensified scrutiny over noncitizen participation in elections and the vetting processes used for public officials at local and state levels.