Stop Electing Sheriffs

Why do we elect county sheriffs?

The question comes to mind now because Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt has once again done what elected sheriffs seem prone to do: misunderstand their job. Here’s the main thing they don’t get: they were not elected to the Supreme Court.

For some reason conservative sheriffs have decided that it’s their job to interpret the federal and state constitutions in any way they see fit. Schmidt intimidated town clerks in his county out of using drop boxes for the November election. He sent emails to the clerks suggesting that he would unleash a social media barrage if they used the boxes.

When one town clerk said she planned to use a drop box, Schmidt told her he would be issuing a press release saying the he had tried to the best of his ability to stop the practice. He said he wouldn’t name her municipality as the one that didn’t comply with his advice, but that he would name it if asked. Not so veiled threat having been delivered, the clerk quickly backed down and said she wouldn’t be using the box after all.

Three clerks in the county were considering using the drop boxes now that the state Supreme Court — the real interpreters of the state constitution — ruled them permissible earlier this year. They all backed off after Schmidt’s threats.

This is beyond irresponsible. Clerks and other elections workers have been threatened with violence for the last four years thanks to Donald Trump’s lies about election fraud. Schmidt knows full well that he’s feeding into this misinformation and to those threats. As a far-right conservative he just doesn’t like drop boxes, so he’s decided to exploit his office and get way out of his lane to promote his personal political views.

This isn’t the first time sheriffs have fancied themselves constitutional scholars. From time to time some sheriffs in Wisconsin have stated that they would refuse to enforce new gun control laws. That was especially delusional since they were vowing not to enforce laws that had no chance of passing. And of course, had they passed and had the Supreme Court ruled them constitutional, where does some sheriff get off saying he knows better?

Then, of course, there was Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, who is just, well, kind of nuts.

This is no isolated thing. There’s even an organization called the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. The group, known as CSPOA, teaches that elected sheriffs must “protect their citizens from the overreach of an out-of-control federal government” by refusing to enforce any law they deem unconstitutional or “unjust.”

So these guys swear fealty to the constitution — the same constitution which sets up the Supreme Court to interpret it — but deny that the Court has that right when they simply don’t agree with their interpretation. Isn’t that unconstitutional?

I’ve often wondered why we elect sheriffs when we appoint police chiefs. Anybody can get elected sheriff — and guys like Schmidt prove that anyone does. There’s no requirement for training whereas police chiefs work their way up through the ranks, sometimes in the department they lead and sometimes elsewhere. The point is that they are professionals. None I’m aware of are unclear about who interprets the constitution.

There’s simply no reason to elect sheriffs and, as Schmidt demonstrates, plenty of reason not to. Let’s change the law and get solid professionals in these positions.