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What does a county commissioner do? Every county office on your ballot, explained

A plain-English guide to the local offices on your 2026 ballot: county commissioner, county judge, sheriff, district attorney, clerks, tax assessor, constable, justice of the peace and school board.

By The Decent Ballot  / 

The races at the bottom of your ballot get the least attention and decide the most about daily life: your property taxes, how long the line is at the jail, whether a neighbor gets evicted, and whether the sheriff works with ICE. Here's what each office does, in a paragraph or two, and what we look for when we rate the people running for it.

Short version: commissioners control the money, the sheriff and DA control who goes to jail, clerks run the paperwork and often the elections, and justices of the peace handle evictions and small claims. All of them are elected, and most win by a few thousand votes.

County commissioner

Commissioners are the county's legislature. They pass the budget, set the property tax rate, approve contracts and decide what the county spends on roads, the jail, public health, mental health care, indigent defense, parks and running elections. In most states there are three to seven commissioners, each elected from a district.

In Texas the four commissioners and the county judge form the commissioners court, which is a governing body, not a courtroom. Each commissioner also oversees the roads in their own precinct.

What we look for: people who fund public defenders and mental health care before more jail beds, keep county contracts clean, and don't take big checks from developers and contractors with business before the court.

County judge (Texas)

Despite the name, a Texas county judge is mostly an executive. They preside over the commissioners court, help draft the budget and serve as the county's director of emergency management, the person in charge during floods, freezes and hurricanes. In big counties like Harris, Dallas, Tarrant and Travis, most cases go to separate county courts at law, so the county judge rarely hears one. In small counties the county judge may also hear probate, misdemeanor and juvenile cases.

Every Texas county elects one. County judges serve four-year terms and run with party labels.

Sheriff

The sheriff runs the county jail and patrols the unincorporated parts of the county, outside city police departments. Jail conditions, deaths in custody and whether the sheriff signs a 287(g) agreement to help ICE with immigration enforcement are the big questions in most sheriff races. In some states the sheriff also serves court papers and provides courthouse security.

What we look for: a sheriff who treats everyone the same, keeps people alive in the jail, and doesn't volunteer to do the federal government's immigration work.

District attorney and county attorney

The district attorney (called the state's attorney, prosecuting attorney or solicitor in some states) decides which crimes get charged, how harshly, and what plea deals are offered. That one office decides more about who goes to prison than any judge. In Texas, some counties also elect a county attorney, who handles misdemeanors, protective orders and civil cases for the county; in others the DA does both jobs.

County clerk, district clerk and recorder

Clerks keep the records: court filings, property deeds, marriage licenses and birth certificates. In many counties the clerk also runs elections, which makes the office far more political than it sounds. A clerk who has repeated false claims about the 2020 election is a clerk who might treat the next one the same way.

Tax assessor-collector and treasurer

The tax assessor-collector collects property taxes and, in Texas, handles vehicle registration and often voter registration. (Property values themselves are set by a separate appraisal district.) The treasurer manages the county's money and investments. These are mostly administrative jobs, so competence and honesty matter more than ideology.

Constable

Texas constables are elected law enforcement officers, one per justice of the peace precinct. They serve civil papers, including eviction notices and warrants, act as bailiffs for justice courts and, in larger counties, run their own patrol and traffic divisions. Constable offices have had their share of scandals over off-duty contracts and ticket quotas, so it's worth reading up.

Justice of the peace

Justices of the peace hear small claims, traffic tickets, minor misdemeanors and, most importantly, evictions. In Texas most JPs don't have to be lawyers. If you rent, the JP in your precinct may be the judge who decides whether you keep your home, so check whether they give tenants a fair hearing.

District, county and appeals court judges

Trial judges set bail, run trials and hand down sentences. Appeals judges review those decisions. In Texas and many other states they run with party labels. We wrote a separate guide on how to vote for judges you've never heard of.

School board

School board trustees hire and fire the superintendent, adopt the budget, set the school tax rate and decide policies on curriculum, library books and discipline. Most school board races are nonpartisan, which makes them harder to research. Here's how we size up candidates without a party label.

Who's running in your county

We've rated every contested local race in these counties, with sources:

Alaska

Arizona

Florida

Georgia

Iowa

Kansas

Missouri

Nevada

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Texas

Wisconsin

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Every candidate in a sentence or two, rated on character, with sources. Type your ZIP code.

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