Judge orders counting of 37 absentee ballots from Hamtramck mayoral race
A judge has ordered 37 absentee ballots from the 2025 mayoral election in Hamtramck, Michigan, to be reviewed and counted no later than Oct. 16.
The uncounted 37 votes are important because former councilman and mayoral candidate Muhith Mahmood lost to Adam Alharbi by only 11 votes in the November 2025 election. Alharbi was inaugurated in the role on Jan. 4, but the matter remains mired in litigation.
Judge Kathleen M. McCarthy, Wayne County Third Circuit Court, signed her order on Friday, one week before the deadline she stipulated for Oct. 16. "If after that tabulation, Muhith Mahmood is found to be the winner of the Hamtramck's Mayor's election, the Board shall not certify that result until further order of the court," the judge said.
As of noon Friday, the Wayne County Election Commission had not posted its next meeting date.
CBS Detroit reached out on Oct. 2 to the Hamtramck city clerk's office and the Wayne County Board of Canvassers for comment on the expected ruling and is awaiting a response.
Legal action on the case
After votes were cast, then-Hamtramck City Clerk Rana Faraj noticed a break in the chain of custody, resulting in those ballots being excluded. In December 2025, Mahmood filed an appeal to have the 37 absentee ballots counted after the Board of Canvassers voted not to include them in the final tally.
The litigation was presented at one point to the Michigan Supreme Court. The justices declined in January to hear arguments on the case and instead insisted on an expedited decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals.
A Michigan Court of Appeals ruling in March said that the 37 remaining ballots must be reviewed with their mayoral votes added to official counts. The case was remanded to the trial court for consideration.
The above video originally aired on Oct. 2, 2026.
