Wayne County Board of Canvassers approve recount in Hamtramck mayoral race
The Wayne County Board of Canvassers approved a request for a recount in the Hamtramck mayoral race in Tuesday's board meeting, one week after certified votes showed Adam Alharbi winning by six votes over Councilman Muhith Mahmood.
Records show that Mahmood filed a petition for a recount on Nov. 19. Certified results showed Alharbi with 2,066 votes to Mahmood's 2,060 votes.
The recount is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Dec. 2.
Unofficial results in the Nov. 4 election initially showed Alharbi winning by 11 votes. However, the race had not yet been declared because election officials rejected 150 absentee ballots due to discrepancies with the signature on the sealed envelope. Those 150 voters were given until Nov. 7 to correct their ballots for them to be counted. Election officials say a majority of those 150 ballots were resubmitted.
Some Hamtramck residents who spoke at the city council's special meeting last week expressed concerns about 37 of the absentee ballots not being counted. At the time, the Wayne County Board of Canvassers voted not to count those ballots after Hamtramck City Clerk Rana Faraj noticed a break in the chain of custody and immediately reported it.
"There's a lot of things that will be done to make sure that we correct the integrity of the election and that the people of Hamtrmack could trust the election process," Alharbi said last week after the certification. "I'm grateful for all the voters who voted for me, and everyone that didn't, I'll make sure that I represent everyone equally."
Mahmood said after last week's council meeting that he was concerned for the voters who supported him and whose ballot was not counted. He paid for the recount and will be reimbursed if he is determined to be the winner.
"My community support is very strong, so as we hear in the public comment today, they are devastated, they want to get a good result, and a fair result," he said.
In the midst of the recount, a lawsuit still lingers against Mahmood, filed by Alharbi, alleging that Mahmood and another council member do not live in Hamtramck. The lawsuit comes months after a private investigator claimed that Mahmood lives in Troy. However, the city council voted against removing both men, citing that there wasn't enough evidence to take action.