Representative Steve Watkins, Republican of Kansas, was charged with three felonies related to voter fraud on Tuesday, shortly before a televised debate in which he dismissed the accusations involving a municipal election as a political move.
The district attorney of Shawnee County, Mike Kagay, charged Mr. Watkins with three felonies: interference with law enforcement by providing false information, voting without being qualified and unlawful advance voting. Mr. Watkins was also charged with failing to notify the state motor vehicle agency of a change of address, a misdemeanor.
Mr. Watkins changed his voter registration address to a UPS store last year before voting in a City Council race that was decided by 13 votes, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.
During the primary debate on Tuesday night, Mr. Watkins, a first-term representative, said that he had accidentally put his mailing address instead of his physical address on his voter registration form and that he had corrected the error as soon as he became aware of it.
He said the charges were an attempt to undermine his credibility in the upcoming election.
“This is clearly hyper-political,” Mr. Watkins said. “It comes out moments before our first debate and three weeks before the election. I haven’t done anything wrong.”
President Trump and other Republican officials have claimed, without evidence, that mail-in voting could create opportunities for fraudulent election results in November. But election experts agree that voter fraud is extremely rare in the United States.
Officials in 49 states — all but Kansas responded — reported no indications of widespread fraud during the 2016 election, according to a review by The New York Times.
Mr. Watkins, a military veteran, was narrowly elected to a reliably Republican district in 2016. His Republican opponents this year, Dennis Taylor and Jake LaTurner, took different approaches when asked about the charges during Tuesday’s debate.
Mr. Taylor, a former Shawnee County commissioner, said U.S. representatives have more important things to worry about, particularly the coronavirus.
“We’re in a war, and that’s what we ought to be focused on,” Mr. Taylor said. “The other activities, such as this, are a sideshow.”
But Mr. LaTurner, the state treasurer, said the charges could hurt the Republican Party’s chances of beating the likely Democratic nominee, Mayor Michelle De La Isla of Topeka.
“We need to put our best foot forward,” Mr. LaTurner said. “Clearly our current congressman, with three felony charges and a misdemeanor charge, is not the person to do that.”
Bryan Piligra, a spokesman for Mr. Watkins, said in a statement that the charges were bogus and blamed them on Mr. LaTurner, calling them “a desperate political attack by a desperate political campaign.”
“Just like President Trump,” Mr. Piligra said, “Steve is being politically prosecuted by his opponents who can’t accept the results of the last election.”
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
