Missouri voters on Nov. 3 will be asked to consider Amendment 8, a ballot measure making it harder to remove sheriffs from office and putting into the constitution the requirement for the election of county sheriffs to four-year terms in most counties.
The measure requires a simple majority to pass.
According to the Missouri Secretary of State website, passage of the measure would amend the state constitution to: require counties to elect a sheriff every four years (except in the city of St. Louis, and St. Louis and St. Charles counties), which is currently required by statute; place in the state constitution provisions regarding sheriff’s duties that are currently provided by statute; provide that an elected sheriff may be removed from office only through an action (a writ of quo warranto) initiated by the Missouri Attorney General; and recognize the office of sheriff as part of the administration of justice.
If the measure fails, the state constitution would remain unchanged and current Missouri statutes providing for the election of county sheriffs to four-year terms and governing their duties and removal would remain in effect unless changed by law. If passed, this measure would not increase or decrease taxes.
Proponents of the measure have said its passage will improve accountability in the sheriff’s position to citizens by requiring the positions be elected, rather than appointed (except in the city of St. Louis, and St. Louis and St. Charles counties). Proponents also have asserted that putting the responsibility of removing a sheriff solely on the attorney general takes such situations out of the realm of local politics.
Opponents contend the measure, if passed, would make it more difficult to remove sheriffs thought to have acted unlawfully or improperly.
Critics have also argued that the part of Amendment 8 referring to “recognizes the office as part of the administration of justice” is a way to reinstate a $3 fee to fund retirement benefits of Missouri rural sheriffs, which the Missouri Supreme Court has ruled against as unconstitutional as sheriffs are part of the executive branch of government.
