Dearborn — Voter turnout in some majority-Arab American neighborhoods, during last week’s Primary Elections, was as low as 8.10 percent, despite the unprecedented number of Arab American candidates on the ballot.

Although turnout was low, the primaries resulted in surprise victories for Arab American candidates. A historic record was set, securing the movement of six Arab American candidates, including three newcomers, to the General Election in November.  

Although the race was competitive and campaigns showed strong enthusiasm, Dearborn had an overall modest voter turnout of 19.30 percent, only a slight increase from the 18.36 percent turnout in the 2009 primaries.

Of the City’s 61,120 registered voters, only 11,795 cast their ballots on Tuesday, Aug. 6.

While turnouts in municipal primaries are typically low, a noticeably lower amount of voters showed up at precincts in neighborhoods with a high concentration of Arab Americans, compared to other areas of Dearborn. 

The lowest turnout in the City was at the St. Kateri Church precinct on Rotunda Drive, near Greenfield Road, where only 6.32 percent of the registered voters showed up to vote. St. Kateri serves a racially diverse area of African, Arab and white Americans.

The Salina School precinct in the south end of Dearborn, where most residents are Arab Americans, had the second lowest turnout, a mere 8.1 percent.

The turnout was also below 10 percent in other precincts with a heavy Arab presence, like Habburd Manor East, Woodworth and Miller schools. 

In other precincts in east Dearborn, such as McDonald, Maples, Lowrey and William Ford schools, the turnout was just above 10 percent.

The St. Alphonsus precinct on Schaefer Road, north of Warren Avenue, where 15.01 of voters showed up at the polls on Election Day, had the highest turnout of all the Arab dominated precincts.

Tarek Baydoun, Susan Dabaja and Mike Sareini, the Arab American candidates who were endorsed by the Arab American Political Action Committee, did better in precincts in east Dearborn, where most voters were Arab. 

For example, while Baydoun finished ninth in the Primary race for city council, he came in first at the St. Alphonsus precinct. At the McDonald precinct, Susan Dabaja, who came in third, received almost three times more votes than Thomas Tafelski, who finished first, overall, in the elections and was also endorsed by AAPAC. 

In contrast to the low turnouts in east Dearborn, the largely non-Arab neighborhoods in west Dearborn witnessed turnouts that exceeded 20 percent in some precincts. The largest number and percentage of voters turned out at the First Presbyterian Church in the west side of the City, where the turnout was 22.9 percent. The second highest turnout was at the Haigh School precinct, also in west Dearborn. 

The turnout in the City would have been much lower than 19.30 percent, if it were not for the 3,445 absentee ballots, which amounted to about 30 percent of the votes.

“It seems that every year, after local elections, we are faced with the same question, regarding the Arab American vote,” said Ali Hammoud, vice president of AAPAC.  “There are many factors that contribute to low Arab American voter turnout.”

While Dearborn resident Khadijah Faraj displayed a “Tarek Baydoun” yard sign on her front lawn for two months, she did not vote for him on Aug. 6, because she says that she did not know the election was on that particular day.

Another Arab American Dearborn woman said that she did not know about the Primary Election until a few days after it took place. She added that national elections receive coverage on both Arabic and American television, which is why Arab Americans vote in larger numbers in presidential elections.

“It was Ramadan, and we were too busy and tired to think about City elections,” she said.

Mohamad Mubarak, 18, said that he voted last week, but he was not aware of the elections until only a few hours before he went out to vote. He added that many of his friends did not vote.

“Many people here are too busy, or feel it is unnecessary to vote,” he explained.

Election Day this year came a couple days before the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, and Tarek Baydoun thinks that fatigue, caused by fasting, could have contributed to the low turnout of Arab Americans in Dearborn, who are mostly Muslim.

 “We were knocking on doors, asking people if they voted. In one instance, a man said he was too tired,” explained Baydoun. “Fasting could have been an issue for some people, but it shouldn’t be.”

Hammoud said that many voters find it hard to break their daily routine in Ramadan to actually go out and vote.

“Another factor is that many Arab Americans travel outside the country, either to their native homelands, or on family vacations, before schools reopen,” added Hammoud. “But the simple truth is that a majority of Arab Americans are simply not interested, or motivated to vote. This year, there were many well qualified and respected members of our community that ran for local office, and we saw marginal differences in voting.”

Baydoun said “very few people” didn’t know about the elections after the combined efforts put forth by his campaign, AAPAC and local newspapers to inform people about the elections.

“We sent 8,000 fliers in Arabic and English, telling people to vote on Aug. 6,” he added. “People are disappointed with the government, but I cannot see how we can have no interest in the elections that impact our schools, police, streets and City services.”

Baydoun added that cultural and religious institutions in the community relied on candidates and campaigns only to get people out to vote. He said that he includes himself in his criticism of the community, which he is a member of. 

However, Hammoud differed in opinion, saying that local institutions and mosques were “more than willing to help” with the effort to get people to vote when AAPAC reached out to them.

“At every Friday Prayer, prior to a local election, local imams and sheikhs encourage their congregation to vote in the upcoming election and they lecture on the importance of voting,” he said. “Sayyed Hassan Al-Qazwini of the Islamic Center of America lectured for ten minutes at the Friday prayer on Aug. 2, regarding voting and even mentioned the entire local Arab Americans running and why we need to support them.” 

Grand Ayatollah Abdul Latif Berry of the Islamic Institute of Knowledge said he has always encouraged and promoted voting in his speeches during the institute’s events.

“Many American Muslims do not vote because the voting culture is not socially present in the Middle East; it is new to them,” he said.

Berry said the Islamic Institute of Knowledge keeps its doors open for candidates who would like to introduce their programs to the Muslim community at the Institute’s cultural and religious events. 

“Islamic and cultural centers should urge people to vote,” he said. “There is a strategic link between voting the fate of the City and the community.”

 “Education can make a difference,” said Susan Dabaja. “We have to tell people that local elections have a bigger impact on their daily lives than national elections.”

Baydoun said Arab American turnout can be improved by convincing members in the community that they have a stake in the outcome of the elections and future of the City.

“Keep educating,” he added. “The numbers are improving. There was a 30 to 40 percent increase in Arab turnout from the 2009 primaries, but you can’t reverse history in one year.”

He said an anonymous survey might be necessary to determine the exact reasons behind the low turnouts, so that they can be addressed accordingly.

Baydoun added that, according to his campaign’s calculations, he would have come in sixth place, if Arab Americans had voted at the same rate as other ethnic groups in the City. 

“I am running for all of Dearborn, and when I become a council member, I will be working for the entire City,” he said “But I grew up in east Dearborn, and you have to be able to rely on the people you know.”

Dabaja said that a higher Arab American turnout would help reflect Dearborn’s diversity in the City government and lead to healthier representation.

According to Hammoud, if more Arabs vote in municipal elections, the Arab American community would have a greater say in the future of the City and be able to address issues that concern it.

“We can stress the importance of hiring Arab Americans on the Police and Fire Department. We have a fairly large community, with less than 10 Arab Americans serving on the police force and Fire Department combined,” he said.