Court orders Wayne County to certify Hamtramck mayoral ballots, clears way for Mahmood
A Wayne County judge ruled on Friday that Muhith Mahmood is a resident of Hamtramck and eligible to serve as the city's mayor, certifying a ballot count that included previously disputed absentee ballots.
Adam Alharbi has been serving as the city's mayor since January, given the results of balloting at the time. He remained as mayor while litigation continued over both 37 absentee ballots and Mahmood's official city residency.
Judge Kathleen McCarthy ruled on Friday that Mahmood was eligible for the Hamtramck mayoral seat based on his residency, after extended back-and-forth between the two sides at the Wayne County Circuit Court. "It is further ordered that the Wayne County Board of Elections is to certify the ballots," she wrote.
During the court hearing on Thursday, Nabih Ayad, Alharbi's attorney, requested that the meeting be adjourned for another 30 days to gather additional evidence and documents regarding Mahmood's ineligibility to serve as mayor due to residency. Mark Brewer, Mahmood's lawyer, asked for the case to be dismissed. Both requests were rejected by McCarthy.
Witnesses who are allegedly Mahmood's neighbors at his residences in both Troy and Hamtramck spoke to their encounters with Mahmood.
Mahmood's residency had been challenged for several years. City officials had tried to kick him off the 2024 mayoral ballot after launching their own investigation and then referring the matter to the Michigan State Police.
State police also testified that Mahmood's cellphone was allegedly mostly located in Troy in 2024. A former Hamtramck police officer who had conducted his own investigation under former city manager testified that, in his own conclusion, Mahmood's residency in Hamtramck could not be verified.
"I am a Hamtramck resident. You can ask all these neighbors. They're not going to come out and lie and wait here for five or six hours to testify," said Mahmood outside of court Thursday.
"My opponent does not live in the city of Hamtramck," Allharbi said Thursday. "And most importantly, the whole city of Hamtramck knows he does not live in the city of Hamtramck and that he lives in Troy."
The judge concluded that there was not enough evidence to overturn the residency claim.
"If Mahmood were eating all of his meals out and sleeping in a couch in Hamtramck 4 days a week, with two sets of clothes, he would nevertheless meet the residency requirements to hold office," she wrote.
Background on the case
In December 2025, Adam Alharbi won the mayoral election of Hamtramck over his opponent at the time, former Councilmember Mahmood.
After votes were cast, then-Hamtramck City Clerk Rana Faraj raised concerns about a break in the chain of custody. The Wayne County Board of Canvassers deadlocked 2-2 over whether the ballots should be counted, leaving them out of the certified election results.
Mahmood challenged that decision in court, arguing that voters should not lose their right to have their ballots counted because of mistakes made by election officials.
Nearly one year after the election, 37 disputed absentee ballots were counted last week. The count on Oct. 16 showed Mahmood leading with 2,089 votes to Alharbi's 2,077 votes.
In April 2025, Mahmood's Hamtramck residency was called into question while he was still serving on the council, amid reports that he may have been living in Troy. Mahmood said he had a second home but primarily lived in Hamtramck.
However, the final results after the counted ballots could not be certified before a circuit court judge reviewed them, and the challenge to Mahmood's residency was resolved. Until the judge's decision, Alharbi had remained mayor of Hamtramck.
