HAMTRAMCK — After 10 months of legal disputes, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen McCarthy issued an order on Wednesday directing the county’s Board of Canvassers to count 37 absentee ballots excluded from last November’s election after they unexpectedly surfaced in the City Clerk’s Office two days after the polls closed.

Those ballots could change the outcome of the mayoral race, which incumbent Mayor Adam Alharbi won by just 11 votes over his challenger, former City Council member Muhith Mahmood.

During Wednesday’s hearing, McCarthy expressed “surprise” that the case had continued for so long.

“I am ordering the ballots to be counted as soon as possible,” she said.

According to the Hamtramck Review, the count is expected to take place Friday, October 16, at a time and location that have yet to be announced.

Over the past several months, Alharbi has argued in court that the excluded ballots should not be counted because unauthorized individuals may have had access to them, raising the possibility of tampering. His challenger, meanwhile, has argued that failing to count the ballots would unfairly deprive those voters of their voting rights.

The Michigan Court of Appeals supported Mahmood’s position, while the Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear Alharbi’s appeal.

Even if the election results shift in Mahmood’s favor, he may be unable to assume the mayor’s office because of a pending lawsuit filed by Alharbi alleging that Mahmood does not actually reside in Hamtramck but instead lives with his family in Troy. That would make him ineligible to run for municipal office under the city charter.

Mahmood maintains that he resides in Hamtramck but frequently visits his family in Troy, emphasizing that he has not separated from his wife.

If Mahmood is determined to have won the election, McCarthy will hear arguments in the residency case by the end of this month. If Alharbi’s victory is confirmed, there will be no need to consider that case.