Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud told voters just before 7 p.m. Tuesday that some precincts had temporarily run out of ballots and that lines were running longer than usual, urging anyone waiting to stay put rather than walk away. He stressed that voters already in line before polls closed at 8 p.m. still had a legal right to cast a ballot, even if the wait stretched past closing time.
“Give the City Clerk’s team time to restock ballots and allow the lines to move,” Hammoud said, according to a message reported by the Detroit Free Press. He added that as long as voters were in line before the 8 p.m. close, “they have a legal right to cast a ballot.” The mayor closed his message on an encouraging note, telling residents, “Let’s keep the momentum going, Dearborn. Every vote matters!”
Election Workers Scramble to Restock Precincts
The shortage came as Dearborn officials urged voters to remain in line after reports that some polling places had run dry, with election workers working to address the delays, per the same Free Press account. The outlet also noted reports of high voter interest statewide, as Michiganders decided their next governor, U.S. senator and a host of other positions on the ballot.
Turnout pressure wasn’t confined to Dearborn. Michigan Public reported that Detroit’s city clerk anticipated turnout near 45 percent, which she called a record for a midterm election. That kind of surge can strain polling-place supplies and staffing even in a well-run election, and it offers context for why some precincts found themselves short.
Tabulator Glitches and Monitor Complaints Statewide
Ballot shortages weren’t the only hiccup reported around Michigan on Tuesday. Malfunctioning tabulators delayed some voting in Redford Township, Shelby Township and Madison Heights, according to the Detroit Free Press. The Michigan Department of State said voters affected by a malfunctioning machine could either wait for a fix or place their ballots in an auxiliary bin to be fed into the tabulator later.
A Michigan ACLU spokesperson told the Free Press that tabulator problems are common in every election and that poll workers have gotten better at using the secure auxiliary bins to keep lines moving. Michigan Public separately reported that the state Department of State characterized in-person voting as going smoothly aside from the usual amount of technical glitches with tabulators. A representative of the Michigan Attorney General’s office told Michigan Public there had been a couple of reports of U.S. Department of Justice monitors going outside the scope of their training, but said the office had no major concerns at that point in the day.
Ballot Shortages Reported Beyond Michigan
Dearborn wasn’t alone in running short on paper ballots Tuesday. In Chicago, polling places in Uptown, Pilsen, Logan Square, Albany Park and the Near West Side reported shortages, with Block Club Chicago reporting that the problem appeared concentrated in precincts using multiple ballot styles. The city's Board of Elections said it began printing additional ballots after first hearing reports of a shortage in the 1st Ward around 10 a.m., according to the outlet.
In Linwood, Kansas, a polling place ran out of ballots after officials ordered too few, and the state elections director said the shortage affected dozens of voters rather than hundreds, per the Kansas Reflector. Officials there delivered 1,000 ballots to make up the gap. Fox News reported that a polling site in Brandywine, Maryland, also ran out of paper ballots, contributing to long lines and delays in Prince George’s County.
What Dearborn Voters Should Know
The City of Dearborn's own election guidance, posted ahead of Tuesday's vote, states that voters already in line when polling places close retain the right to cast a ballot. The same guidance describes same-day voter registration, saying eligible residents who are not already registered can register and vote up to 8 p.m. on Election Day by going in person to the City of Dearborn Clerk's Office at 16901 Michigan Ave.
It remains unclear exactly which precincts ran short, how many ballots were unavailable, or how many voters were ultimately affected by Tuesday's delays. For now, Hammoud's message to residents was simple: stay in line, and let the process play out.
