Cheryl Seeley, Crook County clerk, told commissioners at a Dec. 19 special session that her office’s core services include recording property documents, administering elections, managing public records and serving as the county’s passport acceptance agent. She said those activities ‘‘secure property ownership, enable access to loans, define boundaries, and support legal and financial transactions’’ and stressed that most records are publicly accessible while some (for example, military records) are held confidential.

Seeley summarized the recording process: documents received are checked for compliance with Oregon recording statutes, recorded where allowed, indexed and scanned into an image archive that the public may search online. She described the county’s digital research room and said the office hopes to roll out a digital‑recording and public‑alert service called "Proz" around Jan. 1–2 to let residents sign up for notifications when documents are recorded in names they register.

On elections, Seeley said the county clerk is the chief elections official and handles voter registration, candidate filings and the full planning and conduct of elections. ‘‘Everything election happens in my office,’’ Seeley said, underscoring the office’s role in preserving election integrity. She noted that county election infrastructure is designated critical by the Department of Homeland Security and flagged election security and future funding as continuing concerns.

Seeley also described passport services offered because no local post office provides acceptance: the clerk’s office verifies identity, forwards applications to the federal passport agency and manages related processing locally. She said staff complete continuing education with the federal passport agency.

On customer payments and access, Seeley described a new payment workflow that would send applicants a secure link (Point & Pay) so staff do not collect credit-card numbers by phone, and said the office will provide public access to scanned documents in the lobby free of charge while charging for document downloads.

Seeley read a statement attributed to Secretary of State Tobias Reed praising county clerks as being ‘‘on the front lines of our democracy’’ and representing a vital function in protecting elections and public records.

The manager and board members thanked Seeley for the presentation; no formal action was taken. The clerk’s materials will be refined based on board feedback and returned for final approval in a regular meeting after the January special-session reviews.