After last-minute efforts, Dearborn and Hamtramck may soon get Arabic ballots

After months of effort that included a last-minute push by volunteers to ensure accuracy, Arabic-language ballots for Dearborn and Hamtramck voters appear to be finally ready in time for the August primary, officials announced Friday.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in a news release that for the first time in Michigan's history, there will be ballots and election instructions available in the Arabic language. The names of the candidates will remain in English, but other parts of the ballot will be in Arabic.

The move comes after Dearborn City Councilman Mustapha Hammoud introduced a resolution in March calling for Arabic ballots in a city that has the highest percentage of Arab Americans among cities in the U.S. Hamtramck followed suit with a similar resolution in April, but it was unclear at the time whether the cities and Wayne County could create them before the printing deadlines for the Aug. 2 election.

Adding to the problem was a poorly-done Arabic translation by an outside company contracted with the city of Dearborn, said Arab American leaders.

"It's important that our democracy continue to be accessible and secure for every Michigan voter," Benson said in a statement Friday. "In a moment where there are so many efforts to divide and deter citizen engagement, it's inspiring to see Dearborn, Hamtramck and Wayne County leadership come together to show government can be responsive to citizens' needs and deliver results."

Compared to other large states and metro areas, Michigan and metro Detroit has few municipalities with non-English ballots. In addition to the Arabic ballots for two cities, Michigan offers Bengali ballots in Hamtramck and Spanish ballots in two small municipalities: Colfax Township and Fennville, said Benson spokesperson Tracy Wimmer. In contrast, many cities and entire counties in states like Illinois and Texas offer non-English ballots in various languages.

The news release from Benson contained quotes of approval from the clerks of Dearborn and Wayne County. Both of them were initially critical and hesitant to have Arabic-language ballots, but Friday, they were all on board.

“I celebrate the achievement of Arabic ballots in Dearborn and Hamtramck for the August 2 primary, and all future elections,” said Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett in a statement in Benson's release.

In March, Garrett had written a letter blasting the city of Dearborn and the Secretary of State's office for being "beyond negligible" in how they were planning to have Arabic ballots. Garrett even questioned whether Arabic qualified since the federal government doesn't classify it as a minority language deserving protection under the federal Voting Rights Act.

But in her statement Friday, Garrett said her office and the county's elections division "worked extensively to help facilitate this landmark accomplishment and assure a positive outcome for greater ballot access."

Dearborn City Clerk George Darany, who also was initially cautious and resistant of Arabic ballots, said in Benson's release that "the Arabic ballot is yet another tool to help non-English speaking voters cast their vote and make their voice heard."

Darany added that Arabic sample ballots have been around since 2019 and that Arabic-speaking poll workers have helped voters for the past 20 years in Dearborn.

He estimated that providing Arabic ballots in the city will cost at least $45,000, which includes translation, printing and testing costs.

About 47% of Dearborn's residents have Arab ancestry and about 46% of the city's residents ages 5 and over speak Arabic at home, according to 2020 census data. There are 16,600 Arabic-speaking residents in Dearborn who did not speak English very well.

"I'm happy to see that we were able to get this done and appreciative of the support from the state and county level to assist our city in trailblazing this additional voter accessibility and security," Hammoud, the councilman who introduced the measure, told the Free Press. "Allowing residents to read ballots on their own will reassure them that their votes are being cast in the manner in which they intend."

More: Push for non-English language ballots in Michigan finds obstacles, challenges

The Dearborn council had to pass three resolutions in support of the Arabic ballots to help specify how it would be done.

The city contracted with Global Interpreting Services in Clinton Township to translate thousands of regular and absentee ballots.

After the city received the translations from the company last month, it shared them with some Arabic speakers to see if they were OK.

But the quality was at the level of "maybe Google translation," said Osama Siblani, publisher of the Arab American News, which publishes in English and Arabic. "It just did not make any sense. Some of the translations I saw, they were just horrible. And they needed to be fixed. ... They have absolutely no idea what they're doing as far as Arabic is concerned."

Global Interpreting Services did not comment Friday on the concerns raised by Siblani and others.

The city appointed a three-member volunteer committee that included Siblani, Kassem Doghman and Ali Ajami to fix the translation in less than two days. The committee scrambled, putting in long hours to rectify the mistakes.

The committee and city decided not to translate the names of the candidates into Arabic because it was difficult to make sure they would be accurate in the translation process, Siblani said.

"That reduced the risk of having many problems on the ballots," Siblani said.

They also initially faced some technical issues with the Dominion machines in Wayne County initially not being able to read the translated ballots, but the committee helped solve that, Siblani said.

Darany told the Free Pres the city, committee and the translation company "worked hard to provide the best translation possible despite very tight timelines."

Darany said "the requirements of the ballot layout, ballot language, and the voting equipment added to the complexity. In the end, we are proud of the final translation that all those involved worked hard to create."

In Hamtramck, where there is a large Yemeni American population, 38% of residents ages 5 and older speak Arabic, according to the 2020 census.

Hamtramck City Clerk Rana Faraj said in the release from Benson she hopes the Arabic ballots will offer voters "the tools they need to vote confidently.”

Hamtramck Mayor Amar Ghalib, who was elected last year as the city's first Arab American mayor, said "this is a historic moment for the Arab community, especially in Hamtramck and Dearborn, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact it brings to our community."

Hammoud said the next step for the city is to pass an ordinance that would establish a more permanent procedure to offer Arabic ballots for future elections.

Contact Niraj Warikoo:nwarikoo@freepress.com or Twitter @nwarikoo

Below is a copy of an Arabic-language ballot in Dearborn's 40th precinct.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Arabic-language ballots may soon be available in Dearborn, Hamtramck