Amid Republican concerns about election integrity, most Democrats often loudly insist that voter fraud is virtually non-existent, and that when it does occur, it is exceptionally rare, isolated, and inconsequential to the final results of an election.

Those dismissive excuses don't matter to Republican Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, though, as he just revealed felony voter fraud charges against Jose Ceballos, the Democratic mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, according to Breitbart.

Ceballos, who is not a U.S. citizen, is accused of illegally voting in at least three recent elections, and could face upwards of five years in prison if convicted.

Six counts of election fraud

On Wednesday, in Comanche County District Court, First Assistant Attorney General Stacy Edwards filed an official complaint that charged Mayor Ceballos with three counts each of voting without being qualified and election perjury.

For the first three counts, which relate to elections in August 2024, November 2023, and November 2022, Ceballos allegedly did "unlawfully, feloniously, and knowingly vote or attempt to vote without being qualified, at an election by a person," in that he "was not a citizen of the United States or who did not otherwise meet the qualifications of an elector."

For the second set of criminal counts, which relate to the same three elections, Ceballos allegedly "did unlawfully, feloniously, intentionally and knowingly falsely swear, affirm, declare, or subscribe to statements in answer to questions put to a witness concerning the qualifications of any person to vote."

Conviction on the first set of counts could result in imprisonment for up to 34 months and a fine of up to $100,000, or both, for each charge, while being found guilty on the second set of charges could result in up to 17 months in prison and/or a $100,000 fine for each count.

City considers whether mayor can remain in office

According to local ABC affiliate KMBC, the criminal charges against Ceballos were filed the day after he was re-elected as the mayor of Coldwater, and prompted a "special meeting" by the Coldwater City Council to discuss the "recent events that have transpired" with the state's Attorney General's Office.

"At this time, our focus remains on ensuring that city operations continue to run smoothly and that the needs of our community are met," Council President Britt Lenertz said. "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. It’s important that we respect both due process and the integrity of our local government."

While what, exactly, was discussed in that special meeting has not yet been publicly revealed, local media outlet KWCH reported that Coldwater City Attorney Skip Herd confirmed that Ceballos is not a U.S. citizen, but rather is a legal resident and green card holder from Mexico, who will now have to provide proof of his citizenship and eligibility to remain in office.

"He’s been a registered voter since 1990. He applied for citizenship in February of this year, and through that, raised the issue of whether he was a legal citizen," the city attorney explained.

He violated a system "based on trust"

Mayor Ceballos, who was first elected in 2021, will be permitted by the city to at least serve out the remaining two months of his current term, but will be ousted and replaced by the council president if his citizenship application is not fully approved before the end of the year, per KWCH.

"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," Attorney General Kobach said. "In this case, we allege that Mr. Ceballos violated that trust."

Likewise, Republican Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab said, "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. We want to make sure that gets clarified."