The county clerk administers all the county and state elections unless the commissioners' court has transferred those duties to the tax assessor-collector or a county election administrator. The county clerk may contract with local political subdivisions to conduct their elections. The county clerk conducts the primary early voting and, at the party’s request, may contract to conduct the general primary and the runoff primary elections. The county clerk also serves as clerk of both the county court and the commissioners' court, and it is the clerk that maintains the official records of both the county court and the commissioners' court. As clerk of the county court, the county clerk also receives and is responsible for money paid in fines and fees and for the payment of juror fees.
The county clerk also is the custodian of a variety of other important public records, such as deeds and other instruments and birth and death certificates. The county clerk also issues marriage licenses.
In Texas counties with a population of less than 8,000, unless there has been a special election, the county clerk also serves as the district clerk, assuming all constitutional and statutory duties of the district clerk, along with those of county clerk.
As with all elected county officials, both the county clerk and the district clerk have ultimate authority over the operations of the office, including the authority to hire and fire personnel and direct their daily activities. Both the county clerk and district clerk also have authority to determine how to use all other resources allocated to the office during the budget process.
For more complete information about the duties of a county clerk, and other county officials, click
here.