Oakland County, MI, June 12, 2009 -- An online marriage license application, which saves happy couples a trip to the courthouse to apply for a marriage license, was among five (5) programs that earned national recognition for the Oakland County Clerk & Register of Deeds Office, announced Ruth Johnson.

"We have a lot of June brides and grooms taking advantage of that service right now," said Johnson. "Our wedding present to them is a little different - time and convenience when they're already very busy."

Services honored with the coveted 2009 Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACO) include the Oakland County Clerk's:

• ONLINE MARRIAGE LICENSE APPLICATION  - Of 1,502 marriage license applications submitted through June 1 this year, more than half - 819 - were submitted online. Johnson said an employee originally suggested the online application, which ultimately required a change in state law.
• VOTER OUTREACH VIDEO - This instructional DVD assists new voters and even seasoned voters with recent changes at the polls, including special ballot-marking devices for voters with disabilities. The professionally produced, 11-minute DVD, which "starred" county employee volunteers to save money, was viewed by thousands of Oakland County residents and received wonderful feedback. It was distributed to schools, libraries, senior centers, all of our local municipalities and new citizen groups.
• eFILING SERVICE - Initiated in 2007 in conjunction with the Oakland Circuit Court and the county's IT Department, our eFiling system is believed to be the first program of its kind in the state. It requires attorneys to both file and serve documents electronically, working toward truly paperless courts. The program, which has expanded to six judges and 2,097 participating law firms, has saved a stack of paper nearly five stories tall.
• POLL WORKER RECRUITING PROGRAM - Created in anticipation of the 2008 election year, our office worked with city and township clerks on a campaign to attract varied, new faces, including high school and college students to assist at the polls. The campaign included media efforts, creation of a new county clearinghouse to collect names, a new brochure/web site and a special day to draw attention to the need - Help Oakland Vote Day. The recruiting program to date has attracted a total of 654 people interested in working on Election Day.     
• ABSENTEE BALLOT TRACKER - Inspired by a neighboring county's system, the Oakland County Clerk's Office began offering absentee ballot voters a new online service in July 2008 to allow voters to track their ballots through the election process and confirm their ballots were received by their local city or township clerk to be counted on Election Day. Oakland County, with more than 915,000 registered voters, has a large population of voters who choose to cast their votes by absentee ballot. Michigan estimates that about 20 percent of voters opt for absentee ballots.

"It means so much that NACO recognized our efforts to put technology to work in meaningful ways to assist our citizens," said Johnson. "We are very pleased that some of our successful programs may be used as models throughout the United States."

Oakland County Commissioners Mattie McKinney-Hatchett, (D-Pontiac), who is active in the National Association of Counties and former NACO president Eric Coleman, (D-Southfield), formally presented the awards to Johnson after the Board of Commissioners meeting this week.

"Ruth Johnson is a trailblazer, she always sets the bar very high," said McKinney- Hatchett. "This is why voters have confidence in her and have re-elected her. These are stellar programs, so innovative. Ruth makes me so proud to be a part of the leadership here in Oakland County."