A pair of constitutional amendments will be decided by voters on Election Day.
The first would grant lawmakers from the State Legislature the authority to veto executive orders handed down from the governor with a simple majority vote.
The second, dealing with sheriff’s elections, has largely flown under the radar in this part of the state.
At issue is whether sheriffs’ elections should be a part of the constitution, or whether individual counties could conceivably utilize a commission or other public body to appoint their law enforcers.
“A lot of people don’t realize it’s an issue,” Allen County Sheriff Bryan Murphy said. “It’s not been an issue here.”
The impetus for the amendment vote came out of a 2021 proposal in Johnson County — one that ultimately never came to pass — that would have had the sheriff there appointed by a citizen advisory board instead of being elected.
Murphy, as a member of the Kansas Sheriffs Association, is in favor of the amendment.
“The sheriff is elected by the people,” Murphy said. “We want the people making that decision. We’re the only law enforcement agency in the state that operates under a person elected by the people. That’s what we’re trying to protect.”
The amendment “really doesn’t change a lot,” Murphy noted.
The issue stems from when Kansas achieved statehood and the Kansas Constitution was ratified.
Because the Constitution did not mention sheriffs, legislators wrote up laws setting rules for sheriff’s elections. (As an aside, elections for such positions as county clerks, treasurers, attorneys, appraisers and registers of deeds are in the same boat.)
And since the process was created by legislation, individual counties have the authority to set up their own selection process.
The issue has come up more frequently than one might realize.
While Johnson County’s recent endeavor to appoint a citizen advisory board garnered most of the headlines, appointed sheriffs also have been considered in Sedgwick, Shawnee, Reno and Bourbon counties in recent years.
Even Allen County, in 2006 and 2007, had a citizens committee look at the sheriff’s department, and whether the county would be better served under a consolidated law enforcement agency of the police and the sheriff’s departments. The committee eventually voted down pursuing the matter further.
JOHNSON County’s 2021 effort was most likely political in nature, Murphy noted.
Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden has drawn praise in some political circles, and scorn in others, for a number of issues, including his ongoing investigation into whether the 2020 presidential election was rigged. (He has yet to produce any evidence it was.)
His penchant for publicity caught the attention of the Johnson County Charter Commission, a 25-member body appointed by a collection of government, business, political and community groups that gather every 10 years to review how the county is run.
The county charter typically elicits little more than yawns when brought to the public sphere.
However, the 2021 gatherings drew hundreds of angry constituents when talk surfaced of making the sheriff appointed, rather than elected.
The group eventually decided against a formal proposal to change how the sheriff is elected. Nevertheless, the episode prompted the Kansas Sheriff’s Association to approach state lawmakers about putting the amendment on the ballot.
After a number of hearings on the matter, both the House and Senate easily exceeded the two-thirds majority votes to put the question to a vote. A simple majority vote on Election Day is all that’s required to change the constitution. A “no” vote leaves the door open for counties to determine whether their sheriffs are elected or appointed by a committee. A “yes” vote means all sheriffs will be elected to office.
The only exception is Riley County, which has had a single law enforcement agency since the 1970s and has an appointed director as opposed to a police chief or sheriff.
THE AMENDMENT proposal carries a second provision regarding how a sheriff can be removed from office. Currently, sheriffs can be removed through a legal procedure initiated by county or district attorneys.
The amendment change would shift that responsibility to the Kansas attorney general’s office.
“It essentially takes the pressure off of the county attorney or district attorney,” Murphy said, noting those officers work daily with law enforcement agencies, including those who may be affected by a sheriff’s ouster.
A recall election process, instigated by voters, would remain in place.
ADVANCE voting for the Nov. 8 elections has begun. Ballots can be filled out in the courthouse basement, or requested through the mail.
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