HAMTRAMCK (WWJ) -- The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that 37 absentee ballots left uncounted last November during Hamtramck's mayoral election should have been counted.
A 2-1 ruling by the courts sends the case back to the Wayne County Circuit Court for another look. The appeal was filed by former Hamtramck City Councilman Muhith Mahmood, who lost the election. The decision means current-Mayor Adam Alharbi's slim margin of victory consisting of just 11 votes could be re-examined..
Alharbi took office on January 1st after being declared the winner of November's election, even though former Hamtramck clerk, Rana Faraj, discovered the uncounted ballots in her office the day after the election and delivered them to the Wayne County Board of Canvassers.
The ballots were originally not counted because Faraj put the envelopes in a sealed container in her office which then had several people that were not election officials come in and out.
The Wayne County Board of Canvassers was deadlocked on whether to count the ballots, which left them untabulated, after testimony from Faraj that she was uncertain of the ballots' integrity.
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The Court of Appeals ruled the canvassing board needed to look at more aspects of the circumstances surrounding the uncounted ballots. The court said ballots from eligible voters shouldn't be rejected because an election official didn't follow the laws regarding how to handle them.
Judge Colleen O'Brien dissented, writing she believes the most serious problem with the uncounted ballots is Faraj's statements that she could not confirm the integrity of the ballots because several unauthorized people had access to them, not just that they were stored in an unsecured location.
