In a press conference
Monday
afternoon,
Michigan
Attorney
General Dana Nessel and
Secretary of State Jocelyn
Benson
announced
six
charges
filed
against
Southfield
City
Clerk
Sherikia L. Hawkins on
allegations
of
election
fraud.
According
to
Nessel,
the Office of the Attorney
General
was
notified
of discrepancies in the
Southfield
voter
count
several days ago by the
Oakland
County
Clerk’s
office, after efforts were
made to certify Southfield’s
absentee
ballots
from
the
November
2018
election.
Nessel’s
office
subsequently worked with
the department’s Public
Integrity Unit to verify
the crimes and determine
what charges should be
made.
“Overall,
our
public
integrity unit ensures that
any public official or law
enforcement officer who
commits a crime in the state
of
Michigan,
regardless
of position, standing, or
party affiliation, is held
accountable,” Nessel said.
“Protecting our democracy
is not a partisan issue,
and our goal is to restore
the public’s interest in
honest
government
and
the
integrity
of
public
officials at all levels of our
government.”
Nessel says her office
ultimately
filed
six
charges against Hawkins,
including
Election
Law
–
Falsifying
Returns,
Forgery of a Public Record,
Misconduct
in
Office
and three counts of using
a
computer
to
commit
a
crime.
Hawkins
was
summoned to court this
morning, and appeared in
front of Judge Michelle
Friedman Appel of the 45th
District for a preliminary
hearing.
While
Nessel
would
not go into the details
of the alleged crime, she
explained the allegations
involved
Hawkins
making unauthorized and
inaccurate changes to a
list of absentee voters who
voted in an election last
year.
Following
Nessel’s
statement,
Secretary
of
State
Jocelyn
Benson
spoke to the response
made by the Attorney
General and Secretary
of State’s offices, as
well as the severity of
the alleged crime.
“The
events
that
bring us here today
are rare,” Benson said.
“They involve actions
by a public official
entrusted
with
the
administration
of
elections, and they
recognize
that
our
elections,
as
the
Attorney
General
emphasized,
are
the
foundation
of
our democracy. All
of
us
stand
here
before you today to
indicate
that
there
will be no tolerance
for
any
actions
that
undermine
that
foundation,
anywhere,
anytime,
by
any
person
or
official.”
While
Benson
emphasized
the
detrimental
effects
of any degree of election
fraud, she also underscored
that no election results
had been influenced or
jeopardized by Hawkins’
alleged actions.
“I want to be clear,”
she said. “The allegations
that
the
Southfield
clerk
falsified
official
election records did not
alter the outcome of any
election. There were no
races that were won or
lost as a result and there
were no voters who were
disenfranchised.”
Neither
Nessel
nor
Benson
would
speak
to
the
motivations
for
Hawkins’ alleged crime.
Benson
explained
that
while
Hawkins’
actions
are
being
investigated,
the Southfield City Clerk’s
office will work jointly
with the attorney general’s
office to administer local
elections coming up in
November.
According to Benson, the
investigation carried out
by both her and Nessel’s
departments
confirms
Michigan’s commitment to
free and fair elections.
“What
today’s
announcement
also
underscores
is
that
in
Michigan,
our
elections
are
secure,”
she
said.
“It’s important to note
that
when
there
are
allegations of misconduct,
we act swiftly to ensure
they are addressed and
justice is served, and in
fact it is because of our
vigorous series of checks
and balances, including a
very detailed 14-day post-
election
canvas
process
designed
to
confirm
election results in every
precinct that we uncovered
this potential misconduct.”
U NIVE R S IT Y PHILHAR MONIA ORCHESTR A
2 — Tuesday, September 24, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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Michigan Attorney General accuses Southfield employee of falsifying returns, forgery of
public record, misconduct in November 2018, according to a Monday press conference
Nessel announces election fraud charges
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