Presidential primary ballots are out now

By Charles Sercombe
You can get a head start on voting in the Feb. 27 presidential primary election.
For those who applied for an absentee ballot, they were mailed out last week, said City Clerk Rana Faraj. You can still request an absentee ballot (commonly called AV ballots).
For those who prefer to vote in-person, early voting begins on Feb. 17 through Feb. 25 in city hall, specifically in the city council chambers on the 2nd floor.
In this primary, you must select either a ballot for the Republican or Democratic candidates. That also applies to those who are independent voters. If you don’t specify which party ballot you want, you will not be given one.
This primary in Hamtramck could foretell whether Hamtramck will remain the Democratic stronghold that it has been for decades.
Recently, a number of Muslim voters have said they will not vote for President Biden to be re-elected because of his support for Israel and its invasion of Palestine.
Hamtramck’s majority population is now those of the Muslim faith.
Those who have been critical of Biden have not said who, if anyone, they would support for president. However, political observers say that not voting for Biden is basically a vote for former President Trump.
Both Biden and Trump are the presumed presidential nominees for the Democratic ticket and Republican side respectively.
For those who have questions about the primary ballots, you can call the city clerk’s office at (313) 800-5233, extension 821.
In other election-related news, it looks like a proposal to have voters decide on whether to eliminate property taxes in Michigan is gaining momentum.
The state board of canvassers is close to approving language for a petition that would require at least 446,198 valid voter signatures in order to get a ballot proposal in front of voters.
If voters approve the state constitutional amendment, the state would then require shifting more of the state sales tax to municipalities.
The amendment would also restrict how much the state and local communities could raise other taxes.
There has been some support for eliminating property taxes here in Hamtramck.
Former city council candidate, and former Hamtramck Board of Education member, Nasr Hussain, has been outspoken in his support of eliminating the tax.
If voters do eventually approve the amendment, it would be a devastating blow to Hamtramck’s budget revenue. The city’s largest revenue collection is from property taxes.
Last year, property taxes generated $7.6 million for the city.
Posted Jan. 26, 2024