Although it’s been three years since Joe Biden took the presidential oath of office, over 14 months since the 2022 Michigan elections, and voting equipment purchases and training for the 2024 elections has already occurred, a handful of residents from across Leelanau County still flock to the government center in Suttons Bay before almost every public meeting of elected officials.
During the five minutes allotted for public comment at the beginning and end of these meetings, these residents — often clad in red and identifying themselves as members of the “patriot” group — implore Leelanau County commissioners to implement election reforms.
A mistrust of technology is a common theme in these comments, with patriot group members often attempting to cast doubt on voting hardware and software publisher Dominion Voting Systems — which made equipment used in Leelanau County — and they call on the county commissioners to mandate that ballots be counted by hand instead of machine.
