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

(Detroit Free Press) 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. .............(more)

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2022/07/01/arabic-language-ballots-may-soon-available-dearborn-hamtramck/7791654001/