Adams County voters face a number of critical decisions at the polls Tuesday during party primary elections.

Several key county races are likely to be decided in the primaries, including two of the county’s most important political positions — circuit court clerk and chancery court clerk.

Although the work of both offices is mostly clerical in nature, both are of extreme importance. A large volume of taxpayer money flows through each office. Given the nature of the work the offices perform — marriage licenses, deeds, mental commitment paperwork, court documents and land transfers — it’s critical that offices be led by organized, honest and trustworthy public leaders.

In this year’s races, challengers have yet to prove to us why change is needed or why they would provide great improvement over the two incumbents. Honestly, in some cases, we’re worried about quite the opposite possible effect if a challenger were elected.

We hope voters won’t fall into the trap of simply following someone who is a slick talker, suddenly choosing to put that person in charge of the public’s trust.

In the circuit clerk’s office, recent history reminds us what can happen when someone who is not careful and trustworthy has hold of the purse strings. Adams County deserves better than a repeat of that again.

Because of that, we wholeheartedly endorse incumbents Eddie Walker and Tommy O’Beirne for circuit court clerk and chancery court clerk, respectively.

Both men have proven they can do the job well and without any apparent suspicious activity going on with taxpayer funds.

Some of the challengers, while well meaning, simply do not have the experience needed to fill the role from day one. We were, however, impressed with candidate Jennifer “Lady J” Minor. Although we do not believe she’s the best choice for the circuit clerk’s position, we do hope she will continue to be active in public life. Her influence is needed, but it doesn’t have to come from the clerk’s office.

Regardless of your choice on Tuesday, whether you agree with our endorsements or not, we urge you to make time to vote. Citizens have an incredible power in our country, but only if we choose to use it.