Councilmember responds to recording of him handling ballots

In a city hall surveillance recording, Councilmember Abu Musa can be seen handing absentee ballots to a driver, who in turn then puts them in a drop box across from city hall. Musa has not been charged with a crime.

By Charles Sercombe
Hamtramck’s election scandal continues to widen.
And now, the national and international media are spotlighting it.
In the latest development, as most in town are, by now, aware, surveillance recordings have been made public showing Councilmember Abu Musa inside a vehicle where the unidentified driver stuffs bundles of absentee ballots into a drop box across from city hall.
The recordings show Musa handing ballots to the driver, who in turn puts them into the drop box.
Reached by phone by The Review, Musa denied it was he who was putting the ballots in the drop box.
“Did you see me drop them off?” Musa said. “I was in the car.”
It was pointed out to Musa that it appears he is handing ballots to the driver, which prompted Musa to end the conversation, saying: “I’ll talk to you later with more details.” He then hung up.
Musa, the only incumbent seeking re-election to council, was the top vote-getter in the recent primary election, with former councilmember Nayeem Choudhury trailing not far behind.
Both received the majority of their votes via absentee ballots, with Musa getting 843 absentee votes out of his total of 1,129.
Choudhury received 732 votes by absentee ballots out of his total of 1,053 votes.
The third-place finisher was a few hundred votes behind both candidates.
The surveillance footage, which the city released to The Review and other media outlets, following a Freedom of Information Act request, has a number of people speculating when and if Musa will join two other city councilmembers who have been charged with felony election fraud.
Councilmembers Mohammed Hassan and Muhtasin Sadman were recently charged with multiple counts of election law violations stemming from the 2023 election – not this current primary election.
The charges basically center on what’s called “ballot harvesting.”
Their preliminary examinations are scheduled for Aug. 28 in Hamtramck’s 31st District Court. Both are currently free on personal bond.
According to several sources, it is indeed likely that Musa will be facing charges in the coming weeks – along with possibly other councilmembers and their associates.
Musa and Councilmember Muhith Mahmood are also being investigated for not actually being residents of the city, which could also result in criminal charges.
The investigations were started when City Clerk Rana Faraj noticed bundles of ballots had been dropped off, and also noticed the same handwriting was on a number of the ballots.
Both Hassan and Sadman are charged with forging signatures on ballots.
The state Attorney General’s Office subsequently began an investigation into the 2023 election, but, after a year passed with little action taken, City Clerk Faraj prompted the office to do something.
Attorney General Dana Nessel then called for a special prosecutor to take over the case, saying that because she is a lesbian and Jewish, there could be a perceived conflict of interest with the all-male and all-Muslim city council and mayor.
The Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office has since agreed to take over the case, and they have filed the charges that have come down so far.
In the meantime, the city is embroiled in other investigations involving the police chief, city manager and a police investigator who are all on paid administrative leave.
All of this has caught the attention of local, national and international media.
Posted Aug. 22, 2025