Non-Citizen Mayor Charged With Election Fraud One Day After His Reelection

"Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R) announced on Wednesday that Coldwater Mayor Jose Ceballos is being charged for election fraud, just one day after Ceballos was reelected. Ceballas is a green card holder and legal permanent resident, but he is not a U.S. citizen, according to Kobach. He is a citizen of Mexico and his application for citizenship in February raised questions about whether he can legally hold his current office, according to Coldwater city attorney Skip Herd, who spoke to local media in Kansas."

"In large part, our system right now is based on trust. Trust that when the person signed the registration or signs the pollbooks saying that he's a qualified elector or that he is a United States citizen, that the person is telling the truth, Kobach said. In this case, we allege that Mr. Ceballos violated that trust. Ceballos is facing three counts of voting without being qualified, and three counts of election perjury."

"We now have tools, thanks to the current White House, that we haven't had in over 10 years 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. Schwab said. Ceballas was informed he can finish out the two remaining months of his current term."

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced that Coldwater Mayor Jose Ceballos is charged with election fraud. Ceballos is a Mexican citizen and a legal permanent resident who applied for U.S. citizenship in February, and officials say that raised questions about his eligibility to hold office. Kobach alleges Ceballos violated public trust by signing voter registration and pollbooks asserting U.S. citizenship. Ceballos faces three counts of voting without being qualified and three counts of election perjury, punishable by over five years in prison and up to a $200,000 fine. Kansas officials used the SAVE program to check voter rolls. Ceballas may finish his current two-month term; if citizenship is not approved, the city council president will assume the mayoral role.

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