Arabic-Language​ Election Ballots In Dearborn Have Typo: City Clerk

DEARBORN, MI — Arabic-language absentee ballots that were printed in Dearborn for the November election have "a typographical error."

Dearborn City Clerk George T. Darany said 34 Arabic-language ballots were printed to mistakenly direct voters to choose "not more than one" justice for the Michigan Supreme Court. There are two open seats on the state Supreme Court and the ballot should have instructed voters to choose "not more than two."

"Upon learning of the error, our office immediately notified the State of Michigan Election Bureau and determined the number of absentee voters who needed to be notified," Darany said in a statement.

Darany said election officials were notified of the error on Nov. 2, and that it immediately affects eleven ballots that were completed and turned in. There are 23 Arabic-language absentee ballots that were requested and have not been returned to the city clerk's office.

Darany said they contacted all 34 voters who requested the ballot and told them they can make changes to the affected section on their ballots by visiting the Dearborn City Clerk’s Office.

The ballots were translated by the Arab American News, but it wasn't clear if that's where the error occurred or if it was committed during the printing process, which was done by Dominion, according to Osama Siblani, publisher of the Arab American News, the Detroit Free Press reported.

"We made a mistake," Siblani told the Free Press. "We did not have enough time to review the ballot."

Going forward, all Dearborn election officials have been instructed to provide voters a written statement explaining the error on the Arabic ballots, in accordance with guidance from the State of Michigan Election Bureau, Darany said.

"This statement will be provided only to those who elect to use an Arabic ballot, whether in early or absentee voting or on Election Day," Darany said. "It is important to note that the Arabic ballots have been tested in accordance with election protocols, and the ballots can accurately register up to two selections in the affected section."

Printing these voter ballots entirely in Arabic was new, and they were made available in Hamtramck and Dearborn, two Wayne County cities with large Arab-American populations. Almost half of Dearborn's population is Arab American, according to the US Census Bureau 2020 American Community Survey.