Overview
- The board tied 2-2 on whether to include 37 unsecured absentee ballots found in the Hamtramck clerk’s office and recessed until Friday.
- The ballots were discovered opened but still in envelopes after Election Day, raising chain-of-custody concerns that could affect a mayoral race separated by 11 votes.
- Hamtramck’s clerk is on paid leave, non‑election officials entered the clerk’s office where ballots were kept, ongoing investigations involve local officials, and a residency lawsuit has been filed against the apparent mayoral winner.
- In Dearborn, workers used retention bags instead of certified ballot containers for absentees, a breach county counsel said could be a misdemeanor; Clerk George Darany apologized as canvassers split 2-2 on retabulation with 21 of 33 precincts out of balance.
- Separately in Hamtramck, 120 of 150 previously rejected absentee ballots have been counted after voter cures and another 120 cured ballots still await inclusion, with county certification due Nov. 19 and state certification on Nov. 25.