Let's see who's voter fraud-ing this time:
A freshman Kansas congressman who had listed a UPS Inc. postal box as his residence on a state voter registration form was charged Tuesday with three felonies, including illegal voting.
The charges against GOP Rep. Steve Watkins came three weeks before the state's Aug. 4 primary election with fellow Republicans pushing to oust him from the eastern Kansas seat he barely won in 2018, even though he's largely toed the conservative policy line and supported President Donald Trump. GOP critics already had worried that the months-long investigation into whether Watkins violated state election laws puts the 2nd District seat in play if he wins the primary.
Watkins called the charges “hyper-political” even though the district attorney who filed them also is a Republican. The congressman said during a televised debate Tuesday evening that he hadn't seen the charges but has done nothing wrong. [snip]
The most serious criminal charge accuses Watkins of voting in the 2019 local city and school board election without being qualified. A first-time offender who's convicted could face a year in prison, though the more typical sentence would be two years' probation.
[District Attorney Mike] Kagay also charged Watkins with voting illegally in advance and interfering with law enforcement by providing false information. Both felonies could bring up to seven months in prison, though a year's probation is the presumed sentence.
Watkins also was charged with failing to notify the state Division of Vehicles of a change of address, a misdemeanor.Watkins is the "honorary" state co- chair of the Trump re- election campaign (but of course he is).
