Detroit councilwoman Mary Waters calls on DOJ to investigate slow voting count in primary

(CBS DETROIT) - Vote totals from the city of Detroit and Wayne County trailed behind the rest of the state in the hours after polls closed Tuesday, and one congressional candidate who lost her primary race wants to know why.

"The Federal Bureau of Investigation, we're going to ask them to take a look. The Justice Department, we need to have someone oversee, verify those signatures and those ballots that were delivered at the last minute," said Detroit councilwoman Mary Waters, who lost to Democratic incumbent Rep. Shri Thanedar by about 15,000 votes .

She says she will be sending the DOJ a letter requesting a review of the primary election. Waters says she will accept the results of the election once her concerns are addressed.

"We want to make sure that the people are assured that the November election will be fair," Waters said.

Daniel Baxter, with the Detroit City Clerk, said that despite any delays, he's confident the vote count is accurate.

"Mary Waters, just like anybody else, if she qualifies and has the money, she can request a recount; take a look at our work, and I am certain she will see the same thing she saw on election day," Baxter said.

Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett said her office will be in charge of canvassing the vote for municipalities in Wayne County, which should identify any irregularities or inconsistencies.

"It's a consecutive 14 days for a canvass, and so that's where in canvass process now, and I think 14 days from now, so the 20th should be the end of the canvass," said Garrett. "And then the election should be certified."

A spokesperson for the Michigan Secretary of State tells CBS News Detroit, "Since 2020, state and local election officials have consistently communicated to voters and to the public that it may take several hours for counties to report unofficial results. We know that politically motivated people or groups will try to exploit any length of time between polls closing and the reporting of results in November."

Garrett said she feels Waters' request for an investigation into the primary election before the canvass and certification can be completed was "premature."