Why Dearborn, Michigan matters in the Democratic primary election

Dearborn, Michigan residents made their voices heard nationally by turning out to vote in Tuesday's primary election. President Joe Biden won the primary, but not in Dearborn where there were a significant number of "uncommitted" ballots.

But what is Dearborn and why is it trending nationally on election night?

More: In one Michigan city, 'uncommitted' claimed more votes than President Biden

What is Dearborn?

Dearborn, Michigan is a city in Wayne County and located about 7 miles west of downtown Detroit. It has a population of 110,000 ranking as the state's seventh-largest city, according to the 2020 census.

About 54.5% of those residents are of Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) ancestry, most of them Arab, making it the city with the country’s largest concentration of Arab Americans.

Tuesday's presidential primary gave a rise in national visibility to Listen to Michigan, a group based in Detroit that encouraged Michigan voters to vote uncommitted as a response to Biden’s refusal to call for a cease-fire in the Middle East.

Given Dearborn's majority MENA population, many eyes were on the city to see how its residents would vote on the Democratic ballot.

More: Michigan Democratic Presidential Primary Results

Why is Dearborn particularly relevant in the Michigan primary election?

Democrat Abdullah Hammoud became Dearborn's first Arab American and first Muslim mayor in 2022.

Hammoud has been outspoken in his support for Palestine in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and publicly supported the vote uncommitted movement.

In January, Hammoud shamed Biden on X, formerly known as Twitter, for sending campaign staff to court his endorsement while continuing to fund Israel's attacks in Gaza.

“Little bit of advice — if you’re planning on sending campaign officials to convince the Arab American community on why they should vote for your candidate, don’t do it on the same day you announce selling fighter jets to the tyrants murdering our family members,” Hammoud wrote in a post.

In February, Hammoud met with Biden administration senior advisors to represent the voices of Dearborn in a two-hour-long policy discussion.

"We remained uncompromising in our values and our demands for a permanent ceasefire, ending unrestricted military support to the State of Israel, and expediting humanitarian aid and funding to UNRWA, among others," Hammoud wrote in a separate post.

On Tuesday evening, Hammoud posted a photo of his Democratic ballot to X, formerly known as Twitter, showing he voted uncommitted instead of for Biden and encouraged others to do the same.

"For our grandfather Khaled and the soul of his soul Reem, for the 100,000 killed, wounded, and missing, for the hope of a free Palestine," he wrote.

More: Which states vote on Super Tuesday? What to know ahead of the presidential primaries

At least one Dearborn polling location ran out of voter registration applications

Dearborn City Clerk George Darany confirmed to USA TODAY that at least one polling location in the city ran out of voter registration applications. Darany said a few people needed to wait until an election worker could deliver some fresh applications to the Maples Elementary School polling location.

“We had the applications replenished in 10 or 15 minutes,” Darany said. “We had to have somebody run over there.”

Mike Herman, the precinct chairman for the McDonald Elementary School polling location in Dearborn, confirmed to the New York Times that it also ran out of voter registration applications at one point in the evening.

Listen to Michigan took responsibility for the shortage on X.

“One of our polling locations in Dearborn ran out of voter registration applications so they're waiting for the city to print and bring more,” the group wrote in a post. “Stay in line!”

Rachel Barber is a 2024 election fellow at USA TODAY, focusing on politics and education. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, as @rachelbarber_

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dearborn voters make their voices heard in Democratic Michigan primary