Hamtramck mayoral candidate Mahmood sues, wants excluded votes counted

The Wayne County Board approves the Dec. 2 recount, however not for 37 uncounted votes.

• Hamtramck mayoral candidate Muhith Mahmood filed a lawsuit asking for 37 votes to be counted.
• The Wayne County Board of Canvassers accredited a recount scheduled for Dec. 2, however not for the 37 votes.

A lawsuit filed this week on behalf of Hamtramck mayoral candidate Muhith Mahmood asks town and Wayne County to rely the 37 votes discovered the day after the election, alleging errors have been made by election officers.

The lawsuit was filed on Monday, Nov. 24, the day earlier than the Wayne County Board of Canvassers accredited a recount within the mayoral race that can happen on Dec. 2, however that recount doesn’t at present embody the 37 votes. There are at present solely six votes between Mahmood, who has 2,060 votes, and his opponent Adam Alharbi, who’s at present main with 2,066 votes. Alharbi opposes counting the 37 votes, saying election fraud is an issue in Hamtramck.

Mark Brewer, an legal professional representing Mahmood and former chairman of the Michigan Democratic Celebration, filed the lawsuit in Wayne County towards town of Hamtramck and the Wayne County Board of Canvassers. Brewer stated within the lawsuit that there was an “unconstitutional disenfranchisement of 37 Hamtramck residents and voters whose absentee ballots weren’t tabulated … as a result of admitted errors of Hamtramck election officers.”

The lawsuit additionally alleges that “the Wayne County Board of Canvassers has didn’t right these errors. These ballots must be counted or these voters must be given the chance to solid new ballots.” The lawsuit particulars that there have been issues with how absentee ballots have been processed on Election Day. Metropolis Clerk Rana Faraj has beforehand stated the 37 ballots have been present in her workplace after the election.

“On November 5,” the day after the election, Faraj “found that there was a 37-vote distinction between the variety of return envelopes delivered to the AVCBs (Absentee Voter County Boards) and the variety of ballots that the AVCBs reported tabulated,” based on the lawsuit. “She found that 37 return envelopes nonetheless contained the untabulated absentee ballots in her workplace.”

Faraj then “instantly positioned the 37 ballots – which have been inadvertently left within the return envelope, the place they remained in any respect related instances – right into a safe container, sealed it and delivered it to the Wayne County Board of Canvassers,” reads the criticism looking for reduction.

However the two Republicans on the four-member Wayne County Board of Canvassers voted to dam the counting of the 37 ballots throughout its Nov. 13 and 14 conferences. The vote was 2-2, with three votes wanted to cross a movement to rely them. Alharbi, a patent engineer who works for the Commerce Division, supported Donald Trump for president and has been in touch with Republicans, whereas Mahmood, who works at a restaurant at MGM Grand, is a Democrat who supported Kamala Harris. Throughout the board’s conferences on November 13 and 14, Mahmood, an immigrant from Bangladesh, acquired help from leaders within the Bangladeshi American group to rely the 37 votes, whereas Alharbi, an immigrant from Yemen, had supporters within the Yemeni American group who urged the board to not rely the 37 votes.

Lisa Capatina, a Republican who chairs the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, didn’t return a message from the Free Press looking for remark. Hamtramck Metropolis Lawyer Odey Meroueh additionally didn’t return a message looking for touch upon the lawsuit.

Nabih Ayad, an Alharbi legal professional and founding father of the Arab American Civil Rights League, stated he opposes counting the 37 votes.

“There has lengthy been a priority about why votes are usually not counted by these charged with data and guidelines in vote counting,” Ayad informed the Free Press. “The Wayne County Board of Canvassers clearly had the best to not add these votes because of severe points with the chain of custody and the implications related to breaking the chain of custody. Whether or not in a legal surroundings or in our voting course of, chain of custody is important to the integrity of our democracy and that’s the reason they don’t seem to be included within the rely. The mayor-elect will apply to intervene on this lawsuit as he’s the licensed winner.”

The present mayor, Amer Ghalib, elected in 2021, determined to not run for re-election for an additional four-year time period after Trump chosen him as ambassador to Kuwait.

Brewer stated the lawsuit has been assigned to Wayne County Chief Decide Patricia Perez Fresard. Fresard on Nov. 14 denied an Alharbi request filed by Ayad asking for Mahmood to be disqualified, arguing that he doesn’t stay in Hamtramck. Mahmood has beforehand strongly denied accusations that he lives in Troy as an alternative of Hamtramck. Michigan State Police have stated they’re nonetheless investigating the residency prices towards Mahmood and one other council member.

Reporter Natalie Davies contributed to this report.

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com, X @nwarikoo or Facebook @nwarikoo