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What Does a County Clerk Actually Do

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What Does a County Clerk Actually Do

A listener in Ohio saw county clerk on her ballot and realised she had no idea what the job was. Marcus invited a serving clerk from a Texas county to explain a typical Tuesday.

  • Records: deeds, marriage licences, assumed name certificates and why they matter
  • Where elections fit, and where they do not, depending on the state
  • Why the role is elected in most places and appointed in some
  • A typical week, from a courthouse counter to a storage room full of ledgers
  • How to look up your own clerk and what you can ask for

Send your question as a voice note and Marcus will find someone who does the job.

Transcript
Hi everyone, welcome to The Civics Desk. I am Marcus Delgado, I taught government for twelve years, and this is the show where we take one question about how government works and answer it properly. Today's question comes from a listener in Ohio who looked at her ballot, saw the words county clerk, and realised she was about to vote for a job she could not describe. She is not alone. So I called a serving county clerk from a mid-sized county here in Texas, and she has agreed to walk us through what she actually does on a Tuesday. Deeds, marriage licences, court records, in some states elections, in others not. By the end you will know what the job is, why it is on a ballot, and how to find yours. You are listening on Witspeak Podcasts.
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