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Kansas mayor hit with criminal charges for allegedly voting as noncitizen in several elections

Kansas mayor hit with criminal charges for allegedly voting as noncitizen in several elections

Kansas leaders brought criminal charges Wednesday against Joe Ceballos, the mayor of a small city in rural Kansas, alleging he voted in several elections but is not a U.S. citizen. Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, both elected Republicans, announced they filed six charges in Comanche County against Ceballos, a lawful permanent resident from Mexico, for voting in elections in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Ceballos is the mayor of Coldwater and previously served as a city councilman. MAINE VOTERS DEFEAT VOTER ID BALLOT INITIATIVE, APPROVE ‘RED FLAG’ GUN RESTRICTIONS States are required by law to have mechanisms in place to regularly clean voter registration lists, also known as voter rolls. The process includes using external databases to screen for noncitizens, which Kobach, a longtime immigration hawk and ally of President Donald Trump, said is not error-proof. “Noncitizen voting is a real problem. It is not something that happens once in a decade. It is something that happens fairly frequently,” Kobach said, echoing the broader sentiments of Republicans who say voter fraud is a pressing issue. Ceballos’ charges, which include perjury and voting without being qualified, according to the complaint reviewed by Fox News Digital, carry a maximum penalty of more than five years in prison. Ceballos did not respond to a request for comment. Kobach, who previously served as Kansas secretary of state, has a long history of pushing for tougher immigration enforcement and stricter voter ID laws. In 2018, he lost a high-profile federal lawsuit after attempting to enforce a state law that required voters to provide physical documentation of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. A court found it exceeded the necessary requirements to confirm citizenship, in violation of federal election laws. CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS LAUNCH VOTER ID BALLOT PUSH, NEED 875K SIGNATURES BY DEADLINE The court said at the time that the state law could not “be justified by the scant evidence of noncitizen voter fraud before and after the law was passed.” Kobach did not detail how state officials came to learn that the mayor and former city councilman is allegedly a noncitizen, but he said investigators had “unassailable evidence” against Ceballos. Kobach said city officials, such as mayors, are also required by law to be U.S. citizens, which the attorney general said was “worth noting” but not a criminal offense. Ceballos was on the ballot for re-election on Election Day, but the official results have not been certified yet. “In large part, our system right now is based on trust, trust that when the person signs the registration or signs the poll books saying that he is 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.” Kobach and Schwab said they recently began taking advantage of a federal government database that helps cross-check voter rolls with immigration records that they expect will lead them to identify more voting violations. Ceballos’ first court appearance is Dec. 3. 

Hakeem Jeffries dodges question on whether Mamdani is future of Democratic Party

Hakeem Jeffries dodges question on whether Mamdani is future of Democratic Party

Following Zohran Mamdani’s decisive mayoral victory in New York City Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., dodged a question on whether the self-proclaimed democratic socialist is the future of the Democratic Party. “You had record turnout in New York City for this election. Would you say that Mamdani is the future of the Democratic Party?” a reporter asked Jeffries during Wednesday’s press conference on Capitol Hill. “Well, what Democrats have done all across the country is lean into the issue of affordability because of the fact that America’s too expensive costs are too high, and Donald Trump and Republicans, not only have they not done anything about it, they’ve made it worse as a result of the Trump tariffs as a result of them detonating the clean energy economy,” Jeffries responded. “That’s why electricity bills are skyrocketing. And now, of course, they’re forcing these dramatically increased health care premiums to be visited upon the American people.” SOCIALIST SHOCK WAVE: ZOHRAN MAMDANI STUNS NYC AS VOTERS HAND POWER TO DEMOCRATS’ FAR-LEFT FLANK Jeffries was also asked whether he is personally comfortable having the city he represents, the most populous city in America, run by a socialist. In response, Jeffries simply answered that Mamdani “is the mayor-elect of the City of New York. It’s incumbent upon everyone to make sure that he’s successful.” Although Mamdani was quickly endorsed by some of the country’s most progressive leaders, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., the Democratic Party’s top leadership was slower to give its blessing. Jeffries did not answer whether he would be endorsing Mamdani until just before early voting began Oct. 24. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., never issued an endorsement of Mamdani. However, he called his electoral victory “historic.” Mamdani, a 34-year-old immigrant from Uganda, is the first Muslim mayor of New York City. WILL ELECTION DAY 2025 BE REMEMBERED AS THE RISE OF THE SOCIALISTS? Despite dodging these questions, Jeffries received an identical question earlier in the week about whether Mamdani is the future of the Democratic Party, prompting him to say, “I think the future of the Democratic Party is going to fall, as far as we‘re concerned, relative to the House Democratic Caucus and members who are doing a great work all across the country as it relates to our need to both take back control of the House.”  Jeffries called Tuesday night’s election a “big night for the American people” and a “big night for the Democratic Party.” Besides New York City, Democrats notched major victories in California, Virginia and New Jersey. Jeffries called the election results “a decisive repudiation of Donald Trump and failed Republican policies.” This comes as the government shutdown over expiring Obamacare subsidies and healthcare benefits enters day 36, becoming the longest closure in U.S. history. Senate Democrats have voted 14 times to reject a House-passed continuing resolution budget bill that would reopen the government. Despite this, Jeffries indicated he believes Tuesday’s election showed the country is blaming President Donald Trump and Republicans for the shutdown and that more Democratic victories are in store in 2026. VANCE DELIVERS POST-ELECTION REALITY CHECK, CONTENDS GOP MUST MAKE LIFE AFFORDABLE OR GET WALLOPED IN 2026 “We’re going to take back control of the United States House of Representatives. So, let’s be very clear about that,” he said. “Based on the environment that we know exists, which, as Democrats, we’ve been telling you for the last several months, is the reality. But now it’s been confirmed by the American people.” He also praised the passage of a California redistricting proposition, which was backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, saying it will further help Democrats retake the House. “Stay tuned because more is coming,” he said. “Republicans are going to be unable to gerrymander their way into rigging the midterm elections. That scheme is over. Buried dead in the ground. And, so, we’re going to take back control of the House and fight for every inch of territory.”

Mamdani taps party insiders to steer transition despite vowing to ‘turn the page’ on old-guard NYC Dems

Mamdani taps party insiders to steer transition despite vowing to ‘turn the page’ on old-guard NYC Dems

Zohran Mamdani vowed Tuesday night during his victory address to “turn the page” on old-guard New York City Democrats. But within less than 24 hours, the mayor-elect of New York City announced a transition team comprised of folks with ties to the administrations of Bill de Blasio, Eric Adams, Michael Bloomberg and Joe Biden.  “Let tonight be the final time I utter [Andrew Cuomo’s] name as we turn the page on a politics that abandons the many and answers only to the few,” Mamdani said Tuesday evening as he touted a new political order for New York City at his victory address at the Brooklyn Paramount theater. The next morning, Mamdani named an all-female transition team comprised of four co-chairs and an executive director.  The co-chairs are Maria Torres-Springer, a former top aide under former mayors de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg and soon-to-be former Mayor Adams; Lina Khan, the Biden administration’s Federal Trade Commission chair; Melanie Hartzog, a former New York City budget director who served as the deputy mayor for Health and Human Services under de Blasio; and Grace Bonilla, a former Bloomberg and de Blasio aide appointed to lead the former’s task force on racial equity and Inclusion. Elana Leopold, a former senior aide to de Blasio, was tapped to be the transition team’s executive director. WILL ELECTION DAY 2025 BE REMEMBERED AS THE RISE OF THE SOCIALISTS?  Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani for comment but did not get a response in time for publication.   “The polls have barely closed, and already the incoming mayor is breaking one of his core promises to shake up the status quo and usher in a new day. New York City started a downward spiral under the de Blasio administration, and now some of its main players are returning to the halls of power,” said Republican strategist Colin Reed.  “And former FTC Chair Lina Khan became synonymous with her hostility toward businesses large and small during the Biden administration and one of the ringleaders of Bidenomics.” Khan, in particular, has been accused of sidelining career staff in favor of fresh blood from a cadre of dark money nonprofits, which coincided with a forceful antitrust strategy that mirrored the organizations’ goals. The FTC, under Khan’s leadership, credited individuals brought up from these nonprofits for help in crafting policy and messaging in posts on its website and in a report to Congress in 2022. FLASHBACK: WILDEST MOMENTS MAMDANI OVERCAME ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL TO BECOME NYC’S NEXT MAYOR  Mamdani, a New York state assemblymember who ran as the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor, defeated former Empire State Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in the Big Apple’s mayoral contest. “My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty,” Mamdani said in his victory speech Tuesday night. “Tonight you have delivered a mandate for change. ​​A mandate for a new kind of politics. A mandate for a city we can afford. And a mandate for a government that delivers exactly that.” During Mamdani’s victory speech Tuesday night, the mayor-elect also slammed corporate interests, telling his supporters New Yorkers have been betrayed by those elected officials who care more about their own enrichment.  “We refuse to let them dictate the rules of the game anymore,” he said. “They can play by the same rules as the rest of us.” Mamdani’s election victory was being cheered by Alex Soros, the son of billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who has helped fund left-wing campaigns stretching from district attorneys to federal elections. In 2022, the younger Soros succeeded his father as chair of the board of directors of the massive $25 billion Open Society Foundations he runs his activism through.  Alex Soros’ support of Mamdani is not a surprise, with the Open Society Foundations reportedly donating $37 million in the last decade to left-wing groups that promoted Mamdani’s nomination this year, such as the Working Families Party, the New York Post reported in July.