HAMTRACK, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Hamtramck mayoral race results are razor thin. Adam Alharbi leads Muhith Mahood by 11 votes, according to the city clerk.
Alharbi, the unofficial winner, received 2,009 votes. Mahmood received 1,998 votes.
Watch Darren Cunningham's video report below:
The two candidates told 7 News Detroit they’re confident they'll ultimately be the victor. However, City Clerk Rana Faraj said depending on a number of rejected absentee ballots that need to be corrected, either candidate could be the winner.
“I wanna congratulate my opponent on a tough race. They ran a good, a strong campaign, but there’s signs of voter fraud,” Alharbi said.
Faraj told 7 News Detroit about 150 absentee ballots were rejected either because they had no signature, a bad signature or some type of issue that those voters need to come to city hall to correct.
When asked what his next step will be if the outcome end up favoring his opponent, Alharbi replied, "Then it’s OK. That’s democracy. It’s something that we’ll have to accept.”
Mahmood told 7 News Detroit he ran his campaign fair and square, and he said he'll request a recount if the final tally favors his opponent.
“I’ve been up since morning. I’ve been on phone call, one after another. People calling me, wanna know what’s going on, what’s the next steps," he said.
Faraj explained those next steps to 7 News Detroit as it relates to the rejected absentee ballots.
“They have to be signed by the voter on the outside of the envelope. Like, as you see with this envelope, this voter did not sign it. So, when we receive it, we click it in the computer. And, then we have to reject it for no signature," she said.
Faraj said every resident who had a rejected absentee ballot will receive a letter in the mail that explains on how to correct their ballot, so it can be counted.
Kabir Ahmed, a businessmen in Hamtramck told 7 News Detroit, “I especially wanted to ask the resident of Hamtramck that if you guys receive that letter, come and correct that vote.”
Longtime resident Bill Meyer said, “What I want is an accurate count of people who really voted and make sure all the absentee ballots are real and that those are real people that voted.”
Mahmood and Alharbi both said they're confident they'll come out on top.
"I’m the winner, ya know, because as I see the turnout of the people, the absentee ballot, people drop it, if you see the numbers, so I’m very confidence I got the position," Mahmood said.
Alharbi said, "We feel confident that we will still win."
Under election laws, the city clerk said voters with rejected absentee ballots have until this Friday at 5 p.m. to go to city hall to fix them.
