Hamtramck batch of absentee ballots won't be counted, disenfranchising 37 voters

More than three dozen Hamtramck voters have been disenfranchised after three non-election officials walked into the city clerk’s sealed office on election night, compromising the security of absentee ballots that were mistakenly left there.

The Wayne County Board of Canvassers deadlocked Friday on whether to count the 37 ballots, which were discovered in that office the day after Election Day, having been opened but not removed from their envelopes. Because the board didn’t have a majority of votes in favor of counting them, the ballots will not be included in the final tallies of the election.

It’s not clear whether officials at any level are obligated to tell those 37 voters about the fate of their ballots. Greg Mahar, Wayne County’s director of elections, said he wasn’t aware of any requirements around that. State officials said they weren’t aware of any regulations on that either.

Those uncounted ballots could have been pivotal for the result of the closely contested, open-seat mayoral election in the city, which borders Detroit. According to unofficial results, engineer Adam Alharbi currently leads City Council member Muhith Mahmood in the race by only 11 votes.



https://www.votebeat.org/michigan/2025/11/14/wayne-county-canvassers-hamtramck-absentee-ballots-mayoral-2025-election/