Voice over will not quit M1 Mac mini up to date OS

Hello Jebcolpitts.

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. It sounds like you're experiencing issues when attempting to disable Voice Over on your Mac mini. If so, allow us to assist. You had mentioned that you tried to edit your user preferences but that didn't work. Did you attempt to edit your Accessibility settings? Just in case, this resource shows you how to disable this feature:

Change VoiceOver preferences for accessibility on Mac - Apple Support

If the issue persists, we would recommend testing in a new User Account. You can learn how to do so here: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac - Apple Support

Feel free to keep us updated on your results. Best of luck.

Hey there!

Thanks for updating us. Were you able to test this issue under a new user account created on your Mac? If so, were the results the same? You had also mentioned that you tested this issue in safe mode, yet your issue continues to occur in safe mode: How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

According the the safe mode resource, there is steps listed under "If the issue continues in safe mode". It suggests that you reinstall your macOS. If you're not familiar with steps on how to reinstall your macOS, check out this resource here: How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support

Try those steps. We hope this information helps you. Cheers.