What is a County Clerk (and why should you care)?
There’s a special election for Oklahoma County Clerk on April 4th, but not many folks are talking about it, so that’s what we will do here. Most voters want to know four things:
What does the County Clerk do, exactly?
Who are the candidates running for the position?
Why should I vote?
When and where can I vote?
Let’s tackle those questions one at a time:
WHAT IS A COUNTY CLERK?
The County Clerk is like the office manager of the county government. The position might seem a bit boring, but it’s vitally important to our daily lives. Here are some of the key responsibilities:
Budget Board
The County Clerk is one of 8 members of the Oklahoma County Budget Board. The board votes on budgeting recommendations for the county. This includes the budget of the Oklahoma County Jail and the Sheriff’s office and how to spend federal funding coming into the county.Meeting Secretary
The County Clerk serves as secretary for all county meetings. This includes running the technology (computers, projectors, Zoom, etc.) for the meetings and taking minutes during the meeting.Making & Receiving Payments
The County Clerk handles the county’s monthly payroll, pension payments to retirees, and payments to vendors who supply materials to the county.Government Transparency
The County Clerk is responsible for ensuring government transparency throughout the county by managing meeting notices from all local government entities and boards to ensure they comply with the Open Meetings Act. Without these notices, the public wouldn’t know when public bodies are meeting or what they will discuss!Registrar of Deeds
The County Clerk is the ex-officio Registrar of Deeds - basically, the “Keeper of the Paperwork” for all kinds of stuff in the county, such as:All city charters
Divorce decrees (when real estate is involved)
Other final decrees
An accurate and up-to-the-minute record of every piece of property
Powers of attorney
A record of all military discharges
Trust agreements
Processing and Maintaining Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Filings
WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR THIS POSITION?
Derrick Scobey is the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in northeast Oklahoma City. According to his campaign website, Scobey serves on the Alzheimer's Association Board of Oklahoma, Sunbeam Early Childhood Services Committee, BLAC Inc. (Black Liberated Arts Center), Criminal Justice Authority Citizens Advisory Board, and the Stephenson Cancer Center African American Cancer Research Community Advisory Board.
He lives with his wife, Angela Bush Scobey, in Edmond. They have five children.
You can learn more about him and his priorities here.
Maressa Treat is the former finance director for U.S. Senator James Lankford’s re-election campaign and worked in his personal office as director of state outreach. According to her campaign website, she previously worked for the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce and currently serves on the board of the Oklahoma YWCA.
She lives with her husband, Greg Treat, who is President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate, in northwest Oklahoma County. They have three children.
You can learn more about her and her priorities here.
WHEN & WHERE CAN I VOTE?
Election day is April 4th, and all the usual voting options remain available:
Early: You can vote early in person at the County Election Board on Thursday 3/30 and Friday 3/31 from 8am to 6pm. There is no early voting available on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday.
Election Day: You can vote on April 4th at your regular local polling place. Polls will be open from 7am to 7pm.
By Mail: The deadline to request an absentee ballot has already passed. If you have already received an absentee ballot, you can drop it off at the county election board by 5pm the day before the election. You can also return it by mail, but it must be received by the county election board by 7pm on election day.
make a plan to vote
As always, we encourage you to make a voting plan ahead of time. Many people like to put a reminder in their phones so that they don’t forget. Decide how & when you’re going to vote, and then go do it.
remind your friends
Take 30 seconds right now to send this blog post to 3 friends and encourage them to vote. Not because chain letters are making a comeback, but because the most powerful way to increase turnout is for you to remind your friends.