Tens of thousands of municipal clerks are crucial for the operation of the American government and the persistence of electoral democracy. They administer elections, keep and transmit essential records of government and public activity, and implement and interpret local, state, and federal laws. Because clerks operate in both an administrative and a political capacity, some municipalities elect their clerks, while others appoint them. We leverage this variation in the clerk selection method to explore how elections influence American local government. Drawing on an original survey of clerks in five New England states, we demonstrate that elected clerks are more attentive to the public they serve but often make do with fewer professional resources. We find few differences in substantive issue representation; with regard to election administration, however, we find that elected clerks are actually extit{less} responsive to constituent preferences than appointed. Our results provide mixed evidence for the capacity of elections at the local level to enhance accountability for policy implementation.