Missouri voters will decide a constitutional amendment to require the election of county sheriffs in most counties.

The amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 87 (SJR 87), which was introduced by Sen. Jill Carter (R-32), passed the state legislature on May 15, 2026. The House passed the measure by 95-46, and the Senate passed the measure by 24-9.

SJR 87 would amend the state constitution to require the election of county sheriffs for a four-year term in most counties, establishing sheriffs as the chief law enforcement officers in those counties, and limiting the removal of sheriffs from office. Under the amendment, the sheriff can also be removed from office by a quo warranto petition brought by the Attorney General.

In Missouri, most sheriffs are already elected; however, this amendment would enshrine the requirement to elect sheriffs in the constitution.

Under the amendment, sheriffs would be defined as the chief law enforcement officers, and would be responsible for preserving the peace, suppressing riots and disturbances, and apprehending and jailing felons and traitors. They would also attend circuit court proceedings and carry out court orders and other legal processes, such as writing writs and attachments. They would also have the constitutional authority to hire deputies and employees.

The amendment creates an exception for St. Louis, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County.  In St. Louis County, voters approved a measure in 1955 replacing the sheriff’s office with a county police department, while St. Charles County voters approved a county police department in 2012 that reduced the sheriff’s role as the county’s primary law enforcement authority. Sheriffs are elected in St. Louis, but the city has a charter form of government.

Currently, 47 states have county sheriff's offices, and in 41 of those states, sheriffs are elected to four-year terms. Constitutional amendments requiring the election of county sheriffs to serve four-year terms were most recently decided in Utah in 2024 (82.7% voted 'yes' and 17.3% voted 'no') and Kansas in 2022 (61.6% voted 'yes' and 38.4% voted 'no').

The amendment will join six other measures on the Missouri Nov. 3, 2026 ballot, including:

• An amendment that would renew an existing sales and use tax to fund state parks and soil and water conservation;
• An amendment to require the Jackson County assessor to be an elected position;
• An amendment to prohibit abortion in most cases, and prohibit gender transition procedures for persons under age eighteen;
• An amendment to make changes to the ballot measure process, including requiring a majority of voters from each congressional district to approve initiated constitutional amendments, and prohibiting foreign nationals from contributing to ballot measure campaigns;
• An amendment that would create a state-managed permanent public endowment fund with revenue used to eliminate state-imposed taxes; and
• An amendment to phase out the individual income tax.