Final Draft Civic Season 2024 Guidebook (3) - Flipbook - Page 32
APPELLATE
JUDGE
SHERIFF
COUNTY
COMMISSIONER
State or local-level judges
may appear on your ballot
for election or retention.
Appellate judges oversee
cases after they are
appealed and evaluate
whether or not the law
was applied correctly in
the trial court and do not
involve a jury.
Sheriffs are generally
the highest law
enforcement officers of
a county. While exact
roles and duties vary,
sheriffs generally
oversee jails, set arrest
priorities, and carry out
other public safety
tasks.
Sometimes called
County Board of
Supervisors, County
Executives, or
Freeholders, County
Commissioners oversee
the operations of a
county, including
budgets, taxes, elections,
and local infrastructure.
COUNTY
CLERK
DISTRICT
ATTORNEY
SCHOOL BOARD
District Attorneys are
lawyers who represent the
government and work
closely with local law
enforcement to prosecute
local criminal cases. DAs
have a lot of influence over
how cases are tried, the
severity of sentences, and
other aspects of the
criminal justice system.
CITY COUNCIL
MAYOR
COMPTROLLER
Mayors act as
the heads of
city
governments.
Comptrollers
oversee budgets
and finance as the
top accountant
and fiscal
inspector of a
state or local
government.
City councils oversee
municipal-level policies,
including city budgets,
local ordinances, taxes,
and zoning. Some city
councils elect members
from geographic
districts while others
elect members at-large,
or a combination of the
two.
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School board members
represent the
community’s voice in the
school district by setting
budgets and making
policies that impact
curriculum, academic
standards, personnel,
legal and financial issues,
and more.
The County Clerk is
the principal record
keeper of the county,
and handles issues like
marriage licenses and
deeds, collecting
campaign finance
information from local
candidates, and
administering
elections.
