She should definitely serve the full 14-year sentence. Because...Nobody is Above The Law.Southfield City Clerk Sherikia L. Hawkins was charged Monday with six felony counts over "unauthorized and inaccurate" changes to absentee ballots in the November 2018 election.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson made a joint announcement of the charges in Detroit, calling it a "rare" case.
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...Hawkins altered 193 absentee voter records came to light during the 14-day canvass following the election. Benson said the Oakland County Clerk’s Office reported with the Bureau of Elections "the potential for these irregularities and from there we began our investigation."
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Hawkins, a Democrat who just a few months ago was honored by the state party with the Dingell/Levin Award at its Legacy Dinner in Detroit, could not be reached Monday at her office for comment or a number listed in public records. Her attorney also could not be reached.
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Hawkins,38, was arraigned Monday in 46th District Court in Southfield on the charges, which include election law-falsifying returns or records, forgery of a public record, misconduct in office and multiple counts of using a computer to commit a crime.
Forgery of a public record is a 14-year offense, Nessel said.
According to an affidavit filed by Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Larissa LaMay, the lead investigator of the election fraud complaint, Oakland County Elections Director Joseph Rozell began working to certify the city's absentee precincts after the election.
When an absentee ballot arrives into a clerk's office, it is logged into the Qualified Voter File. The clerk then checks to make sure the file entries are valid.
Rozell "contacted Hawkins when he noticed that ballot summary sheets were blank," LaMay's report notes.
Rozell, after questioning Hawkins about her ballot sheets, said it appeared "that the ballot return dates for voters were added or removed from the report in order to force the reports to balance to the number of ballots tabulated for each precinct on Election Night."
"It appears that Hawkins had switched her original reports with altered reports," LaMay wrote.
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Hawkins is paid $101,500 per year in Southfield as the city's clerk.
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Detroit News Archived
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