Lisa Posthumous Lyons, Kent County Clerk and Register of Deeds, presented her office's 2024 annual report to the Board of Commissioners on Nov. 6, summarizing activity in vital records, elections, the register of deeds and the circuit court clerk's office.

Lyons said births have begun to rebound since 2020, deaths rose from 2023 but remain below the 2021 peak, and marriage licenses returned to pre‑2020 levels. Her office fulfilled nearly 98,000 copies of existing vital records in 2024, representing roughly 36,000 distinct requests, which she said amounts to about 275 customer transactions per day handled online and in person. "I just cannot emphasize enough how great the staff is," Lyons said, crediting front‑line employees for daily service delivery.

On elections, Lyons noted Kent County holds multiple elections each year because of its many local jurisdictions. The county implemented early voting in 2024; in the November general she reported 38% of ballots were cast absentee, 26% by early voting and 26% in person on election day. She warned the county now must front early‑voting expenses and await state reimbursement, which makes the clerk's office appear to have higher expenses in 2024. "It appears our expenses have increased by around 25% really just to cover the early voting expenses," Lyons said, adding the change skews the bottom line because the state later reimburses those costs.

Lyons also described technology and records work: the elections team launched an archive of results from 2002 forward; the register of deeds implemented a fraud‑notify program that alerts property owners who enroll when a record involving their parcel is filed; and the court clerk is advancing "Project Paperless" to expand e‑filing beyond business dockets. She said the register of deeds is on pace to record 75,000 to 80,000 transactions in 2025 and noted the $30 recording fee (of which $5 is set aside for an automation or "tech" fund) drives automation fund revenue.

When asked about fraud‑notify participation, Lyons said roughly 15,000 properties are enrolled and called that uptake "lower than desired." Commissioner Coleman requested a breakdown of document types (deeds versus mortgages and other recordings); Lyons said the office tracks about 50 document types and will provide a recent multi‑year trend on deed recordings.

Lyons warned election equipment purchased under the county's 2017 contract will be subject to a statewide replacement process after 2026. She said Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds aided counties in the prior replacement cycle but similar federal funds are not anticipated this time, so local governments should expect costs for new equipment.

The board thanked Lyons and her leadership team for year‑round operations and the work supporting transparency in elections, records access and records security.

Questions raised in the meeting focused on enrollment and outreach for fraud‑notify, the automation fund's ability to continue covering certain technology expenditures if recording revenue remains low, and planning for future election equipment costs.

Lyons closed by saying the office will continue expanding online services, including investigating electronic certified records and broader e‑recording for individual customers.