Michigan Democrat city councilman probed by state police over alleged ballot box stuffing

State police in Michigan are preparing to send the results of an investigation into Hamtramck City Councilman Abu Musa and other local officials to prosecutors. The probe focuses on residency issues and questions about election conduct, reports WXYZ local. 

Surveillance footage from August 1, just three days before the city’s primary election, shows a vehicle pulling up to a ballot drop box. The passenger, appearing to be Musa, can be seen as another man places three stacks of ballots into the box. Musa was running for re-election at the time.

Michigan State Police confirmed the video has been part of their ongoing investigation. The findings are expected to be turned over to the prosecutor’s office soon, with possible charges under consideration.

Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown explained what state law allows at ballot drop boxes.

“You can (return more than one ballot), but there’s a big caveat as to who, whose ballot you can return,” Brown said.

She added that while there is no limit to the number of ballots a person can submit, they must belong to close relatives or people living in the same household.

“If it’s an immediate family member or you co-inhabit with somebody — it doesn’t have to be in a romantic way — but if you co-inhabit with someone, you can return their absentee ballots,” Brown said.

It is not clear whose ballots were deposited in the footage.

The ballot video adds to broader turmoil in Hamtramck, where two other councilmen were recently arraigned on fraud charges tied to absentee ballot applications. At the same time, both the city’s police chief and city manager are on administrative leave amid unrelated investigations.