Michelle Crocker

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Celebration planned for Michelle Crocker, Michigan’s longest-serving current county clerk

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A celebration is planned to honor the longest-serving county clerk in Michigan presently in office upon the 30th anniversary of her being sworn in. Leelanau County Clerk Michelle Crocker assumed office on May 1, 1996. The event celebrating her service will be held Thursday, April 30, at 5 p.m. in the community meeting center at the Leelanau County government center. Snacks, soft drinks and of course cake will be provided. No county funds will be spent on the event. The Glen Arbor Sun named Crocker among a list of Leelanau County “influencers of 2024” for adeptly overseeing the correction of a vote undercount following the November 2024 election.

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Leelanau’s influencers of 2024

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With 2024 in the rearview mirror and 2025 upon us, we’re recognizing 25 “influencers” we covered in the Glen Arbor Sun this past year who are making a meaningful impact on Leelanau County communities, commerce, and culture. Read below about those 25 local influencers, who include everyone from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, to Leelanau Investing for Teens, to Empire’s polar dippers, to popular new destinations River Club Glen Arbor, the Sleeping Bear Inn, and the Lively’s NeighborFood Market.

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In defeat, Lois Bahle praises accurate and secure vote recount

The recount performed by the Leelanau County Clerk’s Office yesterday in the race for District 3 of the County Board of Commissioners concluded with no changes. Republican Will Bunek’s seven-vote win over Democrat Lois Bahle stood. “I owe it to my constituents and to myself with only a seven-vote difference,” Bahle said earlier this month. “The recount process is also a way to show that the system works. We can have faith in it.” Bahle echoed that sentiment today. “The count process is an amazing demonstration of the organizational skill of Clerk Michelle Crocker,” Bahle told the Sun.

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From super majority to narrow minority

To use a football metaphor, the breakout 60-yard gain was called back for a penalty, killing the team’s momentum and resulting in negative yards. Leelanau Democrats are disappointed after the 6-1 super majority on the County Commission they thought they had—following unofficial, and incomplete, election results posted to the County website in the wee hours of Nov. 6­—changed to just three seats. They’ll be in the political minority once again through the four-year term. Democrats thought they were riding a blue wave on the County Commission, too, until County Clerk Michelle Crocker suddenly alerted candidates, and the media, on Friday afternoon, Nov. 8, that more than 3,000 in-person early votes had not been counted in the unofficial results. They were uploaded to the ElectionSource software on election night, but didn’t save correctly. A hand count of the paper backup ballots revealed the discrepancy. Lois Bahle, who now trails her Republican opponent Will Bunek by seven votes, plans to request a recount once results are certified late this week. “I owe it to my constituents and to myself with only a seven-vote difference,” said Bahle. “The recount process is also a way to show that the system works. We can have faith in it.”

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County Commission flips back to Republicans after election-night vote miscount

Republicans will once again have a majority on the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners (BOC), 4 seats to 3, following official canvassing by the County Clerk’s Office today, which revealed that hundreds of early votes were accidentally not counted during election night, Nov. 5. Unofficial results posted early on Wednesday morning, Nov. 6, erroneously showed that 6 of 7 Democrats had won their races. The Glen Arbor Sun, as well as other news outlets, all reported on Wednesday that the Democrats would enjoy a super majority on the BOC. Instead, they’ll once again be in the minority. According to County Clerk Michelle Crocker, the votes posted on the County website on Wednesday morning did not represent all the ballots cast. They were uploaded but didn’t save correctly, she told the Glen Arbor Sun. A hand count of the paper backup ballots on Friday revealed the discrepancy. The County Clerk’s Office works with the company ElectionSource.

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Leelanau County Clerk prepares for “very busy” Election Day, hopes for “smooth sailing”

Today we chat with Leelanau County Clerk Michelle Crocker, whose staff around the county will play a crucial role in counting votes—including a record-number of absentee, mail-in ballots—and making sure Election Day goes as smooth as possible next Tuesday, November 3. Crocker has been Leelanau’s county clerk since 1996. We asked her about those absentee ballots and how early they can be counted, and whether she expects “open-carry” advocates to disrupt the election, among other questions.

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