Sherika L. Hawkins

Sherikia Lavette Hawkins is the current clerk of Southfield, Michigan who gained media attention in September 2019 when she was charged with six felonies in connection with election fraud in the November 2018 election.
Hawkins was elected Southfield City clerk in 2017. She was running against Tarita Darden and Derrick F. Hale. She was the first African-American city clerk in Southfield. Prior to being elected clerk in Southfield, she was City Clerk/Director of Elections in the City of Pontiac, Michigan from November 2011 to November 2017.
Hawkins earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oakland University and Masters in Political Science, Public Policy/Public Administration from Eastern Illinois University.
2018 Election Fraud Charges
On September 23, 2019, during a joint press conference with Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson 6 felony charges were announced. She has been charged with felony counts of falsifying returns, forgery of public records, misconduct in office, and using a computer to commit a crime.
The felony complaint filed by the State of Michigan against Hawkins charges the following crimes.
# Election law - Falsifying Returns/Records MCL 168.932C
# Forgery of a Public Record MCL 750.248
# Common Law Offense - Misconduct in Office
# Computers - Using to Commit a Crime - MCL 752.796 & 752.797(3)(d)
# Computers - Using to Commit a Crime MCL 752.796 & 752.797(3)(e)
# Computers - Using to Commit a Crime MCL 752.796 & 752.797(3)(e)
In support of the complaint, the Michigan State Police filed two supporting affidavits of Probable Cause. In the affidavits the issue for fraud seems to stem from how some reports post-election were produced and balanced. Once an absentee ballot came to the clerk's office it is to be logged into the Qualified Voter File. The clerk checks the absentee ballot are valid (i.e., signed, signature matches, etc.). The clerk then runs the ballots through the tabulator and that number of votes need to match the Qualified Voter File. If they don't match the clerk must run the votes again to see if they match. If they still don't match they then need to notify the County Clerk and the board of canvassers to find out why the votes are not balancing. The Affidavits further alleged that "It appears that Hawkins had switched out her original reports with the altered reports." "The reports were discovered in a trash can at the election division office in Pontiac." It is further alleged that Hawkins marked 193 absentee voters in the Qualified Voter File has had no signature or no return date when the board of canvassers found them to have a valid return date and signature.
The Michigan Secretary of State issued a public letter to Hawkins, saying, "While the criminal charges you currently face could eventually be resolved in your favor, it is difficult to fathom a more serious set of accusations that could be brought against an election official." In that same letter the Secretary of State removed Hawkins from doing any election-related activity.
Hawkins was arraigned and did not enter a plea. She was released on a $15,000 personal bond.
It was reported by some news sources that Hawkins was a Democrat because she was honored by the Michigan Democratic Party at their 2019 Dingell/Levin Award honoree for this year’Legacy Dinner.
Awards
# Michigan Chronicle's 2017 Class of the 40 under 40
# Oakland County's Executive Elite 40 under 40

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