On the election trail … results could be delayed

Update, update: On Thursday, March 11, The Review filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get the Hamtramck Presidential Primary Election results.
Two hours after submitting that request, City Manager Kathy Angerer gave us partial results.
Hamtramck voters favored Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders with 2,407 votes.
Joe Biden received 726 votes.
In total, 3,316 voters participated in the election.
Biden overwhelmingly won statewide.
Posted 12:30 p.m., March 11, 2020

Update: We inquired with City Clerk August Gitschlag about Hamtramck election results, and were told that the results have been in “for hours” and to check “the website.”
We checked the Wayne County election website, and it did not have the breakdown on the presidential primary for any city – but it did for various city proposals.
However, the results for all of Wayne County showed that Joe Biden was the overwhelming winner.
We also checked the city’s website, and there was no posting.
We also asked Gitschlag why he couldn’t share just Hamtramck’s results on the city’s website, and he said he does not have the “authority” to do so, nor was he willing to just email or text us the results.
But he did say Hamtramck voters were overwhelmingly Bernie Sanders supporters.

Also, it appears the DIA millage won renewal in all three counties that voted on it, which include: Wayne, Oakland and Macomb.
Posted at 11:45, March 10, 2020

By Charles Sercombe
Hamtramck voters supported Democratic Presidential candidate … well, we don’t know yet.
And chances are, the results won’t be in until tomorrow, sometime Wednesday, March 11, says City Clerk August Gitschlag.
And considering “tomorrow” is technically anytime after midnight, it’s anyone’s guess when.
Why the delay? Gitschlag says it’s because there are three ballots to count.
Yes, voters statewide had to choose whether to vote in the Democratic Primary, or the Republican one – or none at all and just vote on whatever millage proposal – or proposals — their community was proposing.
Michigan was one of only a few states that had a Republican primary. Many Republican Party leaders in other states decided not to host primary elections in deference to President Trump.
(Political parties can set their own rules when it comes to voting in primaries.)
Hamtramck had just one millage proposal – which was whether to continue the Detroit Institute of Arts millage for another 10 years.
Hamtramck is not alone in not having ballots tallied until Wednesday.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson told media outlets that because of the high volume of people voting by absentee ballot, statewide results won’t be finalized until Wednesday afternoon.
Hamtramck also had a high volume of absentee voters – over 700.

Spoiler alert: At 8 p.m., MSNBC was projecting Democratic candidate Joe Biden as the winner.

Voter turnout at the polls here in Hamtramck appeared sluggish in the morning and during the day, but voters suddenly came out in droves starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday’s weather was not the greatest: cloudy and cold in the morning, but then in the afternoon the sun came out and temperatures warmed up.
President Trump basically ran against no serious candidates, and he was expected to stroll through the primary.
From what we could gather in Hamtramck, after interviewing scores of voters, it appeared Bernie Sanders would carry Hamtramck. He was the only candidate to have an office in town, and had campaign workers out and about in the city all day, and for the past two weeks.
Abu Talha, 16 years old, was one of those Sanders’ campaign workers. He stopped by The Review office around 6 p.m. with a flyer that said “Muslims for Bernie.”
Talha, a Bengali-American, had been canvassing the city with two teenage friends since 8 a.m. He said he supports Sanders because he proposes free college education.
“Also, if my mom is sick,” he said, “she gets free health care.”
The runner up to Sanders, curiously, wasn’t Biden – at least in our informal survey. Believe it or not, several voters said they had no idea who they were going to vote for as they were going into polling stations.
Some simply said: “The Democratic.” When pressed to clarify whether that was Biden or Sanders, they looked confused.
(For the record, there was a third active Democratic candidate, Tulsi Gabbard, but she had failed to win any state prior to Michigan’s primary. There were also several other Democratic candidates on the ballot, but they withdrew from the race long after the ballots were printed.)
For those supporting Sanders, the consensus was that they liked his ideas and proposals:
“I like Medicare for all,” said Desmond Carter.
Max Leonard struggled to explain his support for Sanders.
“He speaks common sense,” was the best reason he could immediately think of. And then conceded: “He wasn’t my first choice.”
Sayed Rahman had several thoughts about Sanders.
“I like his policies, and his record for the past 30 years,” he said. “If you want to beat Trump, he’s the one.”
As for Biden, he might want to sharpen his message if he wants to get support from voters like Rahman in November.
“I don’t see any plan from him (Biden),” Rahman said. “He is as-is.”
Asked if he would vote for Biden in November if he won the Democratic nomination, Rahman said: “Biden and Trump are the same.”
One of the few Biden supporters we met up with, Georgina Wade, also credited his long experience in government, and the fact he was a vice president under President Obama.
“The country’s in a mess. We need someone who knows what they’re doing,” Wade said.
She was also one of the few voices – at least who we heard from — who was against the DIA millage. Her reason was one that was common among those who were opposed.
“The last time, they said they wouldn’t need another one (millage) anymore,” Wade said. “You don’t get a second chance.”
Remember folks, Hamtramck election results were not available at the time this story was posted, so results here were still up in the air.
No matter what the results are, can we all agree to retire the phrase “Bernie Bros”?
Posted at 10:20 p.m. on March 10, 2020.