Hamtramck city officials are urging Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to “take action” on allegations Democratic city council members gained their seats through voter fraud.
Yet despite what officials describe as “clear evidence of suspicious activities” captured on video, the AG’s investigation into the irregularities in the 2023 election has seemingly stalled, the Detroit Free Press reports.
“The Department of Attorney General investigated the underlying facts and its special agents have submitted that warrant for a prosecutorial review but no decisions or charges have been filed,” Kimberly Bush, who directs the AG’s Office of Public Information and Education, said in a statement.
Hamtramck City Clerk Rana Faraj sent a letter to Nessel on March 12 that urged the AG to move forward with the investigation, detailing how Democratic Councilman Mohammed Hassan “continues to act as though he’s above the law, openly bragging that no one can touch him.”
The case centers on voting irregularities in the 2023 election for three Hamtramck City Council seats, which resulted in alleged violations of election laws by Hassan and Muhtasin Sadman, who were both elected that year.
An assistant attorney general requested two charges of absentee ballot tampering and two counts of impersonating another to vote for Hassan, and a charge of impersonating a voter and two charges of inducing unqualified voters to apply for absentee ballots for Sadman.
Other charges were also requested for another Hamtramck man who was not elected, according to Wayne County Court records reviewed by the Free Press.
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“I’m writing to formally express my frustration and deep concern about the ongoing election integrity issues here in Hamtramck, specifically involving a current City Council member who has repeatedly been accused of election fraud,” Faraj wrote to Nessel. “Despite numerous reports and evidence, and forwarding this issue to the county, state, and even law enforcement, including Michigan State Police and the Attorney General’s Office, nothing significant has been done to hold this person accountable.”
While the AG’s investigation into the 2023 election in Hamtramck remains in limbo, Nessel continues to vigorously prosecute 15 Republicans who backed President Donald Trump in 2020.
Faraj pointed to video captured at City Hall that showed “multiple instances of large batches of absentee ballots being dropped into boxes at once, strongly suggesting a single individual rather than multiple legitimate voters.”
Hassan worked to counter a shift toward President Donald Trump among voters in the Muslim-majority city in 2024, professing his support for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris after Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib endorsed Trump, according to the Washington Examiner.
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Hassan, first elected in 2009 and most recently re-elected in 2023, isn’t the first in Hamtramck to face allegations of voter fraud. Three men were charged with several counts of improper possession or return of absentee ballots in 2013, with one, a city council candidate, pleading guilty.
“In 2017, Michigan State Police stopped the father of a city council candidate and raided a business of the candidate on suspicion of voter fraud, but no charges were filed,” according to the Free Press.
Faraj is concerned the fraud may resurface in 2025 with races for three city council seats and the mayor’s post. Ghalib was named by Trump to serve as ambassador to Kuwait and is awaiting conformation by the U.S. Senate.
Ghalib noted last week confirmation by the Senate is “not guaranteed” and vowed to run for re-election if that doesn’t happen, The Detroit News reports.
“If I don’t get confirmed by the Senate, I’m coming back, I’m telling you guys,” Ghalib said at a city event. “Hopefully, I will have the Senate hearing soon, and hopefully … they will confirm. If not, hey ― it’s not a loss, because I will come back to serve our community.”
In February, Hassan announced he’s running for mayor and has taunted Ghalib at city council meetings, prompting a terse response from the mayor, according to The Hamtramck Review.
“You will lose,” Ghalib told Hassan.
Regardless, locals including liberal former Hamtramck Mayor Karen Majewski are applauding Faraj’s efforts to improve election integrity in the city, and are questioning why Nessel’s office has neglected to move forward.
“I really applaud the city clerk for taking this step, which is pretty unprecedented,” Majewski told the Free Press. “She uses the kind of strong language that folks around Hamtramck have been using for a long time in discussing this.”
“The evidence is there,” she said. “Folks in the city and folks in City Hall have been interviewed.”
“Why has this not been acted upon? I have to think that there are political reasons for that,” Majewski said.