Longtime Coldwater Mayor Charged with Illegal Voting as Noncitizen

Residents rally behind Joe Ceballos, a legal permanent resident, as he faces felony charges that could lead to deportation

Published on Feb. 17, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

Joe Ceballos, the recently re-elected mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, has been charged with three counts of election perjury and three counts of voting without being qualified, after he acknowledged voting in U.S. elections despite being a legal permanent resident, not a citizen. The case has drawn national attention, with the Trump administration pledging to seek Ceballos's deportation if he is convicted. However, Ceballos's neighbors in the small town of Coldwater have rallied behind him, seeing the prosecution as a personal attack on a pillar of their community.

Why it matters

The case highlights the ongoing debate over voter fraud and noncitizen voting, with Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach arguing that it is a "real problem." However, voter fraud is statistically rare, and the prosecution of Ceballos, a longtime resident who says he was unaware of the law, has raised concerns about the targeting of immigrants and the potential consequences for their communities.

The details

Ceballos, a 55-year-old legal permanent resident who has lived in Coldwater since he was a teenager, says he registered to vote and cast ballots in elections after being encouraged to do so by a county clerk during a high school field trip. He has been a fixture in the community, working for the public works department and utility company, serving on the City Council, and being elected mayor. Ceballos says he was unaware that his status as a permanent resident, not a citizen, made him ineligible to vote. The charges against him came shortly after he was re-elected mayor in a landslide.

  • Ceballos was charged in state court with voting illegally as a noncitizen just hours before he was re-elected mayor of Coldwater in November 2025.
  • Ceballos's preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 2026.

The players

Joe Ceballos

A 55-year-old legal permanent resident of the United States who has lived in Coldwater, Kansas since he was a teenager, and was recently re-elected mayor of the town in a landslide before being charged with voting illegally as a noncitizen.

Kris W. Kobach

The Republican Attorney General of Kansas, who announced the charges against Ceballos and has long argued that noncitizen voting is a "real problem" that needs to be addressed.

Greg Vanderree

Ceballos's opponent in the November 2025 mayoral election, who said he had no idea Ceballos was not a citizen and played no role in reporting him to the authorities.

Gail Boisseau

Ceballos's high school teacher who took him and other students on a field trip to the county courthouse, where they were encouraged to register to vote.

Bri Uhl

The Comanche County Clerk, who said her office had no record of Ceballos registering to vote before 1999.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“Noncitizen voting is a real problem. It is not something that happens once in a decade. It is something that happens fairly frequently.”

— Kris W. Kobach, Kansas Attorney General (The New York Times)

“I still strongly believe in Trump's immigration laws about, 'Let's get the bad guys out of here.' You know, they're murderers, they killed people, they molested people, let's get them out of here. But I feel like I don't fit that category. And I feel like that's how they're treating me.”

— Joe Ceballos (The New York Times)

“I'm a Vietnam vet — he's just as American as I am.”

— Rick Beeley (The New York Times)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Ceballos out on bail pending his preliminary hearing in March.

The takeaway

The prosecution of Joe Ceballos, a longtime resident of Coldwater, Kansas who was recently re-elected mayor, has become a flashpoint in the national debate over voter fraud and noncitizen voting. While the case highlights the legal issues involved, it has also revealed the deep community support Ceballos enjoys in Coldwater, where residents see the charges as a personal attack on one of their own.