A member of the U.S. House of Representatives has been indicted on four charges related to an investigation into illegal voting. Topeka, Kansas authorities announced Tuesday that Rep. Steve Watkins, a Republican, faces four charges in all, including one misdemeanor, tied to the investigation, which stems from Watkins’ registering to vote in 2019 with a false address, then attempting to rectify it with another useless address when he was caught.
In an extra bit of flair, the Shawnee County District Attorney, Republican Mike Kagay, announced the charges roughly 30 minutes before the rookie representative was set to participate in a televised debate against primary challengers ahead of the state’s Aug. 4 primary.
This Steve Watkins case shouldn't be mixed up with that other Steve Watkins case, wherein the senior Steve Watkins, aka “Daddy Watkins,” came under FEC investigation for illegally funneling his own money into his son’s congressional campaign in 2018.
The Kansas City Star lists the charges against Rep. Watkins, and touches on one possible reason Watkins used a fake address on his voter registration.
The felony charges are interference with law enforcement by providing false information, voting without being qualified and unlawful advance voting. Watkins also faces a misdemeanor charge for failing to the notify the DMV of his change of address.
Watkins used a Topeka UPS store as his registration address for the 2019 municipal election and allegedly voted in the wrong city council district. Sources say Watkins was living with parents at the time, but used the UPS address to obscure that fact.
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Kagay requested the investigation of Watkins by the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office in December of last year following a report in the Topeka Capital-Journal about Watkins using a UPS Store for his registration address. Kagay’s office said the investigation was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Daily Kos Elections’ Jeff Singer noted last winter, Watkins and his team maintained the UPS Store address was just a mistake—and then promptly “fixed” things by replacing the UPS Store address with another questionable one.
Watkins’ team insisted in December that it was all just an "inadvertent" error, and the congressman soon filled out paperwork listing his address as a Topeka apartment complex. Further muddying the waters, though, Watkins didn’t actually include an apartment number in his paperwork, which is a problem since the complex is split between two different state Senate districts.
Predictably, Republicans are scurrying to spin this turn of events. “It’s disappointing, the timing of it is difficult for Congressman Watkins,” Kansas Republican chair Mike Kuckelman noted before declaring that Watkins “should have a trial and see what the jury decides.” Watkins, who has an abysmal voting record, also focused on the timing instead of the charges, describing it as “hyper political” and “very suspicious,” and claiming that media knew before he did. He also insisted that he’d cooperated with authorities, before vowing to clear his name.
Yet in an interview with KSNT, the same network that aired Tuesday night’s debate, Watkins claimed the charges were suspicious.
“We were surprised of these charges. They seem politically motivated to me,” the Republican said, before making the odd choice of comparing his situation to that of the impeached Oval Office occupant. “I believe the Kansas people will … understand that it’s similar to what outsiders face like Donald Trump.”
The first hearing in Watkins’ case is set for Dec. 3, a full month after the general election. The FEC, meanwhile, has yet to take action on Daddy Watkins and his questionable donations.