Breaking news … County judge orders last November’s uncounted ballots to be tabulated

By Charles Sercombe
After eight months of legal battles, Hamtramck’s uncounted 37 ballots from last November’s election will finally be counted.
On Wednesday, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen McCarthy ordered the Wayne County Board of Canvassers to tabulate the ballots in question.
In the hearing, Judge McCarthy said she is “surprised” this issue has dragged on for so long.
“I am ordering the ballots to be counted ASAP,” McCarthy said.
It appears the ballots will be counted on Friday, Oct. 16 at a time and location yet to be announced.
What’s at stake is who will be Hamtramck’s mayor. The 37 ballots were discovered in the city clerk’s office a day after the November 2025 election, and that spurred the long legal fight now culminating this month.
Mayor Adam Alharbi has argued that the ballots shouldn’t be counted because unauthorized people had potential access to the ballots, and therefore might have altered them. His challenger, former councilmember Muhith Mahmood, has argued that not counting the ballots would unfairly disenfranchise those voters.
A state court of appeals agreed with Mahmood. The holdup has been waiting for a county judge to issue an order for the ballots to be included in the election tally.
Mayor Adam Alharbi won by an 11-vote margin. It could turn out that Mahmood will replace Alharbi.
But even if the new election tally flip-flops in Mahmood’s favor, he wouldn’t assume office immediately.
That’s because Alharbi is seeking to have Mahmood disqualified, claiming that he is not actually a resident of the city but instead lives in Troy with his family.
Mahmood has insisted that he is a resident here, but that he often visits his family in Troy. He has said that he is not separated from his wife.
So far, Alharbi has struck out on getting Mahmood disqualified.
If Mahmood is determined to have won the November election, Judge McCarthy will hear arguments by the end of the month over whether Mahmood is a resident who can hold elective office in Hamtramck.
If Alharbi turns out to still be the winner of the election, there would be no need to hear the residency issue.
Asked for a comment about the court’s decision, Mayor Alharbi told The Review:
“While we respect the court, counting ballots that lost their proper security and chain of custody hurts trust in our elections. The math is simple: my opponent would need to win 25 out of these 37 ballots to change the outcome, which does not match how our community voted.
“Given our city’s history of voting irregularities — including documented ballot stuffing, the county prosecutor reviewing over 100 recount ballots that were altered, and an active court case challenging whether he even lives in Hamtramck instead of Troy — serious questions remain.
“I grew up in Hamtramck, and I ran for office because I love this community and want to make it better. This campaign was never about winning a title or holding power; it is about protecting our city. The people of Hamtramck deserve honest, clear, and fair elections, and I will always stand up for legal votes and real accountability”.
Mahmood told The Review: “I am happy the judge plans to get both cases done by, hopefully, in October.”
The earliest, it appears, that Mahmood could take office if he is determined to be the winner and is a resident is Nov. 4 when the county certifies the election results of the upcoming Nov. 3 election, along with any new Hamtramck 2025 election results.
Mahmood was ordered to provide proof of residency, such as utility bills, auto insurance, and bank records, among other documents.
In the meantime, the city council agreed to have taxpayers foot Alharbi’s private legal fees for this issue. His legal bill is estimated to run up to $200,000.
Alharbi began his legal dispute over the ballot issue before he was sworn in as mayor.
The city has already paid over $130,000 for these legal fees.

Posted Sept. 30, 2026