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Clerk and Recorder outlines election workload, text alerts and need to recruit and pay judges
Summary
Elected Clerk and Recorder Cindy Sherman told the Study Commission that elections administration and voter registration are growing in complexity, that text-message outreach has been effective, and that recruiting election judges remains difficult with most judges paid about $12 per hour.
Cindy Sherman, Butte-Silver Bow’s elected Clerk and Recorder and election administrator, briefed the Study Commission on April 21 about the office’s record-keeping and election responsibilities, the county’s use of text-message notifications for voters, and the difficulty of recruiting and retaining election judges.
Sherman described the clerk-and-recorder role as the county’s records custodian for deeds, liens, vital records and meeting minutes and said the office also processes vendor payments and maintains the authorized signatory list for county claims. As election administrator she said she oversees voter registration, runs all municipal, special and federal elections administered by the county, maintains voting equipment, and recruits and trains election judges.
“We have 300,000 texts available to us, and we’ve only used like 5,000,” Sherman said when describing the Text My Gov service the office uses for targeted messages (for example, notifying voters of undeliverable or rejected ballots). She said the county has had good responses to text notices and has used the service for election-judge scheduling and training reminders.
Why it matters: As the county’s population and the number of special-district elections grow, the clerk’s office said it needs stable staff, clear procedures and reliable outreach tools to maintain accessible and secure elections.
Key details
- Office responsibilities: Sherman said the office preserves historic records, manages vouchers, maintains databases of authorized claim signers and collaborates regularly with other county departments.
- Election administration workload: Sherman noted there have been many local elections in recent years (water and sewer districts, volunteer fire districts, school elections) and that each election requires a schedule of filing deadlines, proofs and equipment testing.
- Judge recruitment and pay: The clerk said the majority of election judges are paid about $12 per hour; specialized roles such as tabulation judges and floor managers are paid more. Sherman said many jurisdictions struggle to recruit younger judges and that the office plans outreach at public events to encourage new volunteers.
- Salaries and staffing: Sherman reported her annual clerk-and-recorder salary as $90,260 plus a $2,000 election-administrator stipend. She listed staff pay ranges and said she is evaluating whether parts of the combined clerk/election responsibilities should be split into discrete positions as the county grows.
No formal action was taken. The commission thanked Sherman and discussed future coordination on public outreach and cybersecurity for election systems.
