Dearborn, Michigan, election clouded by worker misstep
Wayne County officials say the Dearborn City Clerk’s office may have made the city’s recent election — in which George Darany won another four-year term as clerk — impossible to recount, because workers stored absentee ballots in the wrong container, breaking the chain of custody.
Initial election results last week showed Darany trailing his opponent, Sami Elhady, but overwhelming support from absentee voters helped him win by around 2,400 votes.
Those ballots, however, were placed in “retention bags” instead of certified ballot containers. Certified ballot containers typically have multiple seal points and reinforced sides to ensure security, while retention bags are canvas and not as secure. That decision broke the chain of custody, county officials said Thursday during a Wayne County Board of Canvassers meeting.
The improper storage of ballots is potentially a misdemeanor, said Becki Carmargo, corporation counsel for Wayne County.
https://www.votebeat.org/michigan/2025/11/14/dearborn-election-absentee-ballots-chain-of-custody/