A Democratic city clerk in Michigan who had been honored by the state party for her work was charged this week with multiple felonies related to charges of altering absentee ballots.

Sherikia Hawkins was arraigned Monday in Southfield, Michigan, on six counts related to the 2018 election including forging public documents and misconduct in office and was released on $15,000 bond, according to National Review Online.

“The alleged misconduct was discovered after the Oakland County Clerk’s Office noticed that 193 voter files had been changed to reflect that the voters failed to include a valid signature or return date, when all of the implicated voters had in fact included both items. The county clerk’s office later discovered the original voter files in the trash at the election-division office,” National Review wrote.

Ms. Hawkins is on paid administrative leave from her post as city clerk for the Detroit suburb until the trial reaches a conclusion.

“The Michigan Democratic party honored Hawkins this year with the prestigious Dingell/Levin award at its annual Legacy Dinner in Detroit, and she was included in the Michigan Chronicle’s ‘40 under 40’ list in 2017,” NRO writer Jack Crowe wrote.

Citing her LinkedIn profile, NRO noted that Ms. Hawkins had served as city clerk in nearby Pontiac in 2010 when Democrat Gary Peters, now a U.S. senator, narrowly won a House race over Republican Rocky Raczkowski. During that Tea Party wave election, Mr. Peters won the 9th Congressional District seat by less than 6,500 votes, or 2.4 percentage points.

Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel and secretary of state Jocelyn Benson said in a public statement regarding the charges against Ms. Hawkins that no election outcomes were affected by the purported ballot-tampering.

Both women are Democrats.

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