Did Kansas Rep. Steve Watkins vote illegally? Shawnee County DA says he’ll review
Shawnee County’s district attorney has asked the county’s sheriff’s office to investigate whether a Kansas congressman voted illegally in Topeka’s city election last month.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Tuesday that Rep. Steve Watkins, R-Kansas, changed his voter registration in August to the address of a UPS store in Topeka. The address, located in the 8th City Council District, was the one he used in November’s election when the winner of the council race was decided by just 13 votes.
The revelation immediately sparked calls for an investigation into whether the congressman had committed voter fraud, which Kansas has aggressively prosecuted in recent years.
Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay confirmed Wednesday that he was aware of the matter and planned to conduct a preliminary review into whether Watkins broke the law.
“I think it’s safe to say any time I’m made aware of potential criminal wrongdoing arising from my jurisdiction it’s my responsibility to at least do my due diligence,” Kagay told The Star.
A half-hour later, Kagay’s office said that he had officially asked the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the allegations.
“As with any alleged criminal conduct said to have occurred within Shawnee County, I have requested that local law enforcement investigate the matter. In this instance, I have contacted the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office,” Kagay said in a statement. “Once their investigation is complete, law enforcement will forward the results to my office for review.”
‘Inadvertent,’ not voter fraud
Watkins’ chief of staff, Jim Joice, dismissed the controversy, saying that the freshman Republican made an error when he filled out his registration form in August.
“Steve listed his mailing address instead of his physical address. He lives at the Overlook Apartments off Wanamaker (Rd.) in Topeka. This was inadvertent and both addresses are in the same county and same congressional district, so there was no improper purpose,” Joice said. “The paperwork is being corrected.”
All of the addresses are in the same congressional district, but they fall into separate city council districts.
Watkins had been registered at an address in the 5th City Council District. The Overlook Apartments are in the 9th.
As of Wednesday, Watkins’ address in his state voter file was still the UPS store in the 8th district, according to the Kansas secretary of state’s office.
Challenger Spencer Duncan defeated incumbent Jeff Coen in the 8th district council race by 13 votes. Duncan, a statehouse lobbyist, said Wednesday he has known Watkins since childhood but that they are not close. Watkins was not involved in Duncan’s campaign, he said, and the two haven’t spoken since 2018.
“It doesn’t impact, at the end of the day, the outcome of the election,” Duncan said. “But I’m like every citizen and voter. If there’s voter fraud out there, it needs to be addressed.”
Watkins isn’t the only Topeka voter who has been calling UPS home on registration forms. The secretary of state’s office said 17 people have registrations that include the address.
Katie Koupal, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state, said in Kansas not all residences have recognized postal service addresses and that state law allows voters to use post office boxes in those circumstances.
Living with campaign team, then parents
The Shawnee County investigation could revive two issues that have plagued Watkins in his brief congressional career: questions about his residency and spotty voting history.
Watkins never voted in Kansas or any other state until 2017, the year he returned to launch his bid for Congress.
Prior to 2017, he spent most of his adult life in either Alaska or Massachusetts, where his wife continues to reside. Watkins’ most recent financial disclosure lists no property in Kansas and ownership of two rental homes in Alaska. He settled a foreclosure lawsuit against one of those properties last month.
During the 2018 election, Watkins lived in a house in Topeka with members of his campaign team, according to three sources familiar with his living arrangements.
Following the election, he moved into his parents’ home in Topeka, according to the sources. Watkins father, a Topeka physician, spent $765,000 toward his son’s election through a super PAC.
Joice did not immediately answer a question about the exact date Watkins moved into his own place in The Overlook Apartments.
In Washington, Watkins sleeps on a cot in his office as a cost-saving measure he said would enable him to buy a home in Topeka. He sunk significant financial resources into his 2018 race, personally loaning his campaign $475,100.
His most recent financial disclosure report, which covers the 2018 tax year, shows that he liquidated thousands of dollars in stock, a move Joice said reflected the decision to steer the money into his campaign. Watkins is an Army veteran who worked as a security consultant in the Middle East.
“As previously addressed last cycle, similar to President Trump, Steve spent much of what he’d earned defending the US overseas into his conservative outsider campaign to uproot the establishment and make America great again. His filings confirm that sacrifice and his continued fight for the values of the 2nd district,” Joice told The Star in October.
Watkins faces a primary challenge from Kansas Treasurer Jake LaTurner. The Republican’s campaign declined to comment on the allegations that Watkins voted improperly in November.
Any investigation into Watkins will face close scrutiny because of the state’s history of tough enforcement on election crimes.
In addition to Kagay’s office, the offices of the Kansas attorney general office and secretary of state both have the power to prosecute election crimes. Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office did not immediately comment on whether it plans to review the matter.
Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who campaigned with Watkins last year, brought multiple cases against people who had committed perjury on election forms or voted in the incorrect jurisdiction.
Kobach’s successor, Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, has discontinued the prosecutions.
Schwab’s spokeswoman, Katie Koupal, said Wednesday morning that the office would defer to local authorities and provide assistance if requested. Scwhab supports legislation that would remove the secretary of state’s prosecutorial power.
Kobach, now a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, said he would not comment on whether he thought Watkins broke the law.
“That would be up to Secretary Schwab and his staff if they choose to exercise the important prosecutorial authority given to them by the law,” he said.
Bryan Lowry reported from Washington, D.C.
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 11:54 AM with the headline "Did Kansas Rep. Steve Watkins vote illegally? Shawnee County DA says he’ll review."
