Government of Jackson County, Missouri
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| Seat: Independence |
| Population (2020): 717,204 |
| County Commissioners: 9 |
| County Website: Official website |
The county government of Jackson County is located both in Independence, which is the county seat, and Kansas City, Missouri. The county was established in 1826.[1]
Elections
2024
Jackson County, Missouri, held general elections for prosecutor, sheriff, circuit court judges, and associate judges on November 5, 2024. A primary was scheduled for August 6, 2024. The filing deadline for this election was March 26, 2024.
An election for two seats on the metropolitan community college district was scheduled for April 2, 2024. The general election was canceled because only one candidate qualified to appear on the ballot for each seat. The filing deadline for this election was December 26, 2023.
2022
Jackson County, Missouri, held general elections for county executive, county legislature, and circuit court judges and associate judges on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for August 2, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was March 29, 2022.
A general election for the Metropolitan community college board of trustees was scheduled for April 5, 2022. The filing deadline was December 28, 2021.
2020
Jackson County, Missouri, held general elections for county prosecutor, sheriff, and circuit court and associate circuit court judges on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for August 4, 2020. The filing deadline for this election was March 31, 2020.
2018
Jackson County, Missouri, held general elections for county executive and county legislator on April 3, 2018. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was January 16, 2018.
Elected officials
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If any officeholder information below is no longer accurate, please contact us with any updates. |
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County Executive
Jackson County voters elect a chief executive who serves as the chief administrative officer and heads the county's executive branch of government. This position appoints and supervises the directors of various administrative departments. The county executive is elected at large and serves a four-year term.[2]
County Legislature
- See also: County commission
The Jackson County Legislature functions as the county's legislative body. It enacts all county ordinances, which are subject to approval or veto by the county executive, and appoints the county clerk and county auditor. The Jackson County Legislature has nine members who are elected to four-year terms. Six legislators are elected from individual districts, while three additional legislators are elected from larger districts. At-large legislators must reside in the district they represent, but are elected city-wide. Therefore, each county resident is represented by two legislators.[3]
The table below provides information on each member of the county legislature:
| Office | Name | Date assumed office |
|---|---|---|
| Jackson County Legislature District 1 | Manny Abarca | January 1, 2023 |
| Jackson County Legislature District 1 At-large | Jalen Anderson | 2019 |
| Jackson County Legislature District 2 | Venessa Huskey | January 1, 2023 |
| Jackson County Legislature District 2 At-large | Donna Peyton | January 1, 2023 |
| Jackson County Legislature District 3 | Charlie Franklin | 2019 |
| Jackson County Legislature District 3 At-large | Megan Smith | January 1, 2023 |
| Jackson County Legislature District 4 | DaRon McGee | January 1, 2023 |
| Jackson County Legislature District 5 | Jeanie Lauer | 2019 |
| Jackson County Legislature District 6 | Sean Smith | January 1, 2023 |
The widget below automatically displays information about their meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Other elected officials
Jackson County residents also elect the following public officials:
| Office | Name | Date assumed office |
|---|---|---|
| Jackson County Prosecutor | Melesa Johnson | January 1, 2025 |
| Jackson County Sheriff | Darryl Forté | 2019 |
Community college district
Jackson County residents also elect members to the community college district board of trustees:
Noteworthy events
2025: Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr. recalled
An election to recall Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr. took place on September 30, 2025, in Jackson County, Missouri. Voters recalled White in the election.[4]
The recall effort was started by the group Democracy in Action. In order to get the recall on the ballot, organizers needed to collect signatures from 42,902 registered voters in Jackson County. In April 2025, recall organizers claimed to have turned in 60,000 petition signatures. County officials said it would take up to two weeks to verify the signatures.[5] Organizers handed in an additional 20,000 signatures in May 2025.[6]
On June 30, 2025, the Jackson County Election Board announced that 43,011 verified signatures were submitted.[7] The Jackson County Legislature unanimously voted to schedule a recall election following the verification of the signatures. The legislature set the recall election date for August 26, 2025, but the county election board said that there was not enough time to "build the election" by that date.[8]
On July 10, 2025, the Jackson County Election Board and the Kansas City Election Board sought a court order to delay the August 26 election. The Jackson County Charter "mandates a recall election within 60 days of certified petitions," but the lawsuit argues that the August 26 election date would violate Missouri statutory and federal requirements for the conduct of elections. The elections boards requested that the court move the election date to November 4, 2025.[9] White vetoed the ordinance calling for the August 26 recall election on July 17, calling it "a complete disregard for election authorities’ guidance and the unnecessary waste of nearly $2 million in taxpayer money.”[10] On August 4, 2025, a Jackson County judge scheduled the recall election for September 30, 2025.[11]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Jackson County Missouri. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Jackson County, Missouri | Missouri | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Jackson County, Missouri, "Our History," accessed October 30, 2017
- ↑ Jackson County, Missouri, "Government," accessed October 30, 2017
- ↑ Jackson County, Missouri, "County Legislature," accessed October 30, 2017
- ↑ KMBC, "SPECIAL ELECTION RESULTS: Jackson County Executive Frank White heading for defeat" October 1, 2025
- ↑ KMBC News, "Organizers say they have nearly 60,000 signatures to recall Jackson County Executive Frank White" accessed April 30, 2025
- ↑ KMBC News, "More petition signatures turned in as recall effort grows for Jackson County Executive Frank White" accessed May 19, 2025
- ↑ KSHB, "Petition to recall Jackson County Executive Frank White receives enough signatures" June 30, 2025
- ↑ KCUR, "Jackson County board says August date for Frank White recall election is 'almost impossible'" July 8, 2025
- ↑ KMBC, "Election boards sue to delay Frank White recall election until November" July 11, 2025
- ↑ KMBC, "Jackson County Executive vetoes ‘unlawful, costly’ special recall election" July 17, 2025
- ↑ KCUR, "Frank White Jr. will face recall vote in Sept. 30 special election, Jackson County judge rules" August 4, 2025
