The struggle to build trust in local elections is pushing this clerk into retirement | The Metro

Last week, President Donald Trump turned his attention to the Alaska Senate race. There are two men named Dan Sullivan on that ballot, the Republican incumbent and a candidate with no party affiliation whom Republicans call a sham.

Trump said he directed the Justice Department to sue, arguing voters may have picked the wrong Sullivan. It also asks Alaska not to certify the race if that costs the incumbent his seat.

Back in March, the president ordered the U.S. Postal Service to stop delivering mail-in ballots to voters who weren’t on lists the states turned in first. The U.S. Supreme Court froze that last month, meaning it won’t apply in November.

Still, all of these developments have some Michiganders, who live in a purple state, concerned. 

Sue Hartman is not one of those people. She’s the clerk of Courtland Township in Kent County, which is home to Grand Rapids. 

The Republican says our elections are secure. Nonetheless, she’s retiring from her job after the midterms. That’s in large part because of the barrage of election denialism she faces daily.

The Metro’s Sam Corey spoke with clerk Hartman before the Justice Department filed the Alaska lawsuit.