Missouri Amendment 8: Who Should Hold a Sheriff Accountable?

Amendment 8 is being presented to voters as a measure to “support law enforcement.” But Missouri sheriffs are already elected by the people, generally serve four-year terms, and already perform the duties described in the amendment. Placing those provisions in the Missouri Constitution would make them harder to change, but it would not significantly alter how most sheriff’s offices operate today.

The most consequential part of Amendment 8 concerns how a sheriff could be removed from office. Under current Missouri law, county prosecutors have authority to pursue the removal of certain local officials for willful or fraudulent misconduct, corruption, or neglect of duty. Amendment 8 would take that authority away from local prosecutors and require any effort to remove a sheriff to begin through a court proceeding initiated exclusively by the Missouri attorney general.

That means residents, county officials, and locally elected prosecutors could present evidence of serious wrongdoing, but the decision to pursue removal would rest with one statewide elected official in Jefferson City. A judge would still make the final decision, but the attorney general would control whether the case ever reached a courtroom. The amendment would apply to most Missouri counties, although St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County would be excluded.

I strongly support the dedicated law-enforcement officers who serve our communities, and I believe voters should continue electing their sheriffs. But supporting law enforcement does not mean eliminating local accountability. No public official—regardless of party or position—should be placed beyond meaningful local oversight.

We must ask ourselves whether concentrating this authority in the attorney general’s office truly protects Missouri citizens. Have you met our attorney general?

I believe accountability should remain as close to the people as possible. For that reason, I oppose Amendment 8 and encourage Missourians to vote NO.