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Amendment 8�County Sheriffs�

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Amendment 8

Amendment 8 is a legislatively referred constitutional amendment.

Amendment 8 was brought via Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 87, sponsored by Senator Jill Carter.

This SJR passed both the Senate and House and was delivered to the Secretary of State on May 28, 2026.

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Amendment 8: Ballot Title

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to support law enforcement by preserving the right of citizens to elect a county sheriff, prohibiting the removal of a county sheriff except by a writ of quo warranto, and recognizing the office of sheriff as part of the administration of justice?

State and local governmental entities estimate no costs or savings.

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Amendment 8: Details

Current state law includes:

County sheriffs to be elected every four years, and
Designation of the sheriff as the chief law enforcement officer of the county.
Amendment 8 proposes to put these same two provisions into the Missouri Constitution

Note: the phrase “the elected sheriff shall be the chief law enforcement officer in his or her county” is in the Amendment but not in the ballot language.

Current state law already requires two things that are in Amendment 8
There are certain exempt areas around St. Louis and we can address those in the Q&A time if you have an interest.
The text not in the ballot language does appear in the SJR text.

The City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County would be exempt from this requirement.

The City of St. Louis created its separate metropolitan police structure in 1861.

St. Louis County voted to amend its charter and establish the professional St. Louis County Police Department on July 1, 1955. This shift replaced the traditional duties of the county sheriff's office and constables with a centralized county police force.

St. Charles voters approved a charter amendment in November 2012 to establish
a separate police department, which officially began operations on January 1, 2015. This transition moved general law enforcement and peacekeeping duties away from the elected Sheriff's Department to an appointed professional police chief.

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Amendment 8: Details

Writ of quo warranto: A writ of quo warranto is a legal remedy used to challenge a person's right to hold a public or corporate office. Cornell Law School

Amendment 8 states:

“an elected county sheriff shall not be removed from office except by writ of quo warranto initiated by the attorney general.”

This restricts the power to remove a sheriff from office to the attorney general, removing the local oversight authority.
However, the ballot language excludes the phrase “initiated by the attorney general”.

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Amendment 8: The League Position

The League of Women Voters believes in local control of government.

State and federal legislation, in general, should provide a “floor,” a minimum standard for local policies that local government can build on to fit their jurisdictions’ needs and constituents' desires, but not a “ceiling” that prohibits local governments from policy innovation and testing.

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Questions?

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Your VOTE Matters

Voter information : Vote411.org

Early In-Person Absentee Voting Oct 20, 2026- November 2, 2026

Election Day Hours: Nov 3, 2026

6 am- 7 pm