Noncitizen ex-Kansas mayor pleads guilty to illegally voting multiple times

[aggregator] downloaded image for imported item #69275

This post was originally published on this site.

A Mexican nativegreen cardholder who recently served as mayor of a small Kansas town pleaded guilty to voter fraud after illegally voting multiple times, according to federal authorities.He also falsely claimed U.S.citizenship on voter registration documents.

The case comes as debate continues overvoter fraud and election integrity, with the Trump administration pushing measures aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration and tightening election safeguards.

Jose “Joe” Ceballos, who formerly served as mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, for two terms, pleaded guilty this week to three counts of disorderly election conduct following a prosecution by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach’s office, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Ceballos also has a prior conviction for battery in 1995.He was issued a green card in 1990 and applied for U.S.citizenship in February.

COLOMBIAN WOMAN CHARGED WITH ILLEGALLY VOTING IN 2024 ELECTION STEALING $400,000 IN TAXPAYER FUNDED BENEFITS

Authorities say Jose Ceballos-Armendariz, shown inset, unlawfully voted in U.S. elections despite not being a citizen, according to DHS.

Authorities say Jose Ceballos-Armendariz, shown inset, unlawfully voted in U.S.elections despite not being a citizen, according to DHS.(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File ;Department of Homeland Security)

On thatcitizenship application, federal authorities allege he falsely claimed that he had never previously claimed to be a U.S.citizen.

Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis credited the Trump-era SAVE program for helping bring Ceballos to justice.

The database is used to help states determine who is in the country legally versus illegally, but Democrats, including the Shapiro administration inPennsylvania, have blamed alleged discrepancies in the system after illegal immigrant truckers were found to hold their state’s CDLs.

“The SAVE program is a critical tool for state and local governments to safeguard the integrity ofelectionsacross the country,” Bis said.“President Trump has been unequivocal: Nothing is more fundamental than the integrity and security of our elections.”

Bis said the Ceballos case is an exemplar for whyCongress must pass theSAVE America Act, which she called “commonsense legislation that requires voters to present photo ID and implements other critical measures to protect federal elections from fraud.”

“Our elections belong to American citizens, not foreign citizens,” she said.

STATE CONSERVATIVES DEMAND ACTION ON NONCITIZEN VOTING: ‘TIME FOR CONGRESS TO LISTEN’

Bis�com/politics/state-conservatives-demand-action-noncitizen-voting-time-congress-listen">state voter registration formon which Ceballos falsely claimed to be a citizen, as well as his naturalization application on which he had attested that he had never made such a claim.

Since April 2025, more than 24,000 cases have been identified via the SAVE system as potential noncitizens who were on the voter rolls, according to DHS.

In November,Kobach announcedthe original charges against Ceballos, describing him as “recently reelected” in Coldwater.

NICK SHIRLEY ALLEGES POTENTIAL VOTER FRAUD LOOPHOLE IN CALIFORNIA THAT COULD ENABLE ILLEGALS TO VOTE

At the time, USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser called the situation “absolutely unacceptable and sad,” but said it was no surprise “given the years oflax voting security inthe United States.”

 “From day one, the Trump administration has made strengthening the SAVE program a top priority so states can verify that only U.S.citizens are on the voter rolls,” he said.

onelink.me/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.

“I’m grateful that President Trump implemented the SAVE program to help states and to prevent situations like this,” added KansasSecretary of StateScott Schwab.

�s Kiera McDonald contributed to this report.

Scroll to Top