TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas voters will decide in November whether to ensure that counties or state lawmakers can’t end the longstanding tradition of electing sheriffs.
The state House voted 91-31 on Tuesday to approve a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution to declare that almost every sheriff in the state must be elected to a four-year term.
The Senate already had passed the measure, so it goes on the ballot.
There’s little chance counties will stop electing sheriffs, but the Legislature has the power to make changes.
Amendment supporters said sheriffs should remain directly accountable to voters. Riley County in northeastern Kansas is the only county out of 105 without an elected sheriff.
“The office of sheriff has deep historical roots, and the longstanding practice of election rather than appointment makes sheriffs uniquely accountable to the people," Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in a statement. "I commend the large bipartisan majorities in the Legislature for giving Kansas voters the opportunity to enshrine the elected office of sheriff in our state constitution."
