Coldwater awoke to turmoil after re-electing its mayor, only to learn Kansas officials now claim he never had the legal right to vote due to his noncitizen status. A decades-old record went unquestioned, leaving residents stunned and divided. As leaders scramble to keep the town running, questions swirl about how the system failed for so long. The crisis has shaken more than one officeholder—it has fractured the town’s trust in its institutions.