Kansas Rep. Steve Watkins was charged Tuesday with three felonies and a misdemeanor related to an investigation into whether he illegally voted in a 2019 municipal election.
Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay, a Republican, announced the charges about a half-hour before Watkins, a first-term Topeka Republican, was set to appear on a televised debate with his primary challengers Jake LaTurner and Dennis Taylor on KSNT….
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….
The charges are only one of the legal headaches facing Watkins, who was narrowly elected by less than a percentage point in 2018.
Steve Watkins, Sr., the congressman’s father and a Topeka physician, revealed in March that the Federal Election Commission was reviewing donations he steered to his son’s 2018 campaign through other individuals, an action prohibited under federal law. The FEC has not taken action in the matter, but Watkins’ campaign has racked up hefty legal bills since 2018.