Helena Chase Birdwell

Barren County Clerk

Barren County Clerk, Helena Chase Birdwell, serves as the Chairwoman of the Barren County Board of Elections and plays a key role in the conduct of elections. All petitions for candidates for elective county offices are filed with the County Clerk and drawing for ballot positions is conducted by the Clerk. She is responsible for printing ballots, canvassing the votes at Primary and General Elections; and, along with other Barren County Board of Election board members, certifies Election Day votes to the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Helena was first elected as Barren County Clerk in November 2018, following the retirement of previous Clerk, Jo Anne London.

Helena is a fifth-generation Barren County native.  She graduated from Glasgow High School in 2000 and went on to receive a Bachelor’s Degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 2004.  Upon graduation, she first worked in local government for the Barren River Area Development District as a WorkForce Investment Caseworker and later as the Lead Trade Coordinator for the Federal Trade Adjustment Assistance Program and the Rapid Response Coordinator for the ten-county “BRADD” region.  Before being elected as Clerk, she worked in state government for the Office of Employment and Training as the Regional Trade Facilitator.  Then, in 2012, Helena worked in federal government as a Constituent Services Representative in the Bowling District Office of Congressman Brett Guthrie, the Member of the House of Representatives for Kentucky’s Second Congressional District.

Helena is married to John Birdwell and together, they have three children (Zander, Mason, and Jackson) and reside in Glasgow. 

Helena welcomes all citizens of Barren County into the clerk’s office and is willing to help them to the best of her ability.