Electing coroners happens every four years in hundreds of U.S. counties, including Pennsylvania. Few voters in those counties even realize they are electing coroners. If you’re one of those voters, it’s even less likely that you’ll pay any attention to the qualifications of coroner candidates. That’s a big mistake.
Qualifications to run for coroner are shockingly inadequate in most states. Yet that coroner will decide your cause of death should you die in an accident, in a pandemic, or at the hands of law enforcement.
The politics of electing coroners in America
Coroner qualifications matter because of the increasingly partisan nature of our elections. Ensuring minimum requirements are met is an important protection against electing coroners who are unqualified and beholden to local politicians.
A 2022 article in the Economist described America’s coroners as “too often a public health liability.” The article cited this example:
“Coroners reliant on voters who are skeptical about covid have not been as scrupulous as their medical-examiner peers. One coroner in Missouri candidly told the press that he strikes covid-19 from the death certificates at the request of the family of the deceased.”
Matthew Isbell, a close observer of the politics of U.S. coroner elections, has noted that “Coroners … are unopposed 80% of the time – allowing longtime Coroners to simply win unopposed again and again.”
Examples of coroner requirements around the U.S.
I arbitrarily chose the following five states for a closer look at state requirements to run for coroner. The news isn’t all bad. Colorado and Missouri, for example, have taken small steps to raise standards in their states in the past few years.
Some states have requirements for training AFTER election, ignoring the fact that people are likely to die before that training takes place. It’s no substitute for electing a qualified coroner in the first place.
ALABAMA
- Citizen of the county x 1 yr, 25 yo, registered voter, US Citizen
- Has not been convicted of a felony offense or any offense involving moral turpitude contrary to the laws of Alabama, or any other state, or the United States
Anecdote: Tim Ellison, a funeral director elected to multiple terms as Coroner of Elmore County, AL, was convicted in 2014 of felony theft charges related to transporting bodies. Some states do not allow funeral directors to be coroners due to the potential for conflict of interest.
COLORADO
In counties with a population of fewer than 150,000 people, the coroner must
- be a citizen of the United States and a resident of the state of Colorado and of the county in which the person will hold the office of coroner
- have earned a high school diploma or its equivalent or a college degree . . .
BUT: In April of 2024, Colorado passed a law raising the standards for elected coroners in counties with a population greater than 150,000. Those coroners must be one of the following:
- either a death investigator certified by and in good standing with the American board of medicolegal death investigators or
- a forensic pathologist certified by and in good standing with the American board of pathology.
The credit for that change goes to Dr. Leon Kelly, a forensic pathologist who served as the El Paso County Coroner for seventeen years until his resignation at the end of 2024. In this November 2024 video, Dr. Kelly shares thoughts about his work and experiences.
Another Colorado law that other states should emulate? They require that autopsies for coroner or medical examiner cases be performed by forensic pathologists.
MISSOURI
A few larger counties appoint medical examiners. But most Missouri counties elect coroners. These are the only requirements to run:
- citizen of the United States
- over the age of twenty-one years
- resided within the state one whole year, and within the county for which he is elected, six months next preceding the election
Missouri has been trying for years to raise standards for its elected coroners. In 2020, as COVID was ravaging the country, the state legislature passed a law creating a Coroner Standards and Training Commission, but two years later, the Governor still hadn’t appointed the number of members needed for the Commission to begin making decisions.
A new bill to improve coroner standards was shot down by the legislature in 2024.
Currently HB 1122 is under public comment. It requires that coroners provide “evidence of completion of a certification to do death investigations.”
Of course it may be unrealistic to expect more qualified candidates when current salaries for Missouri coroners range from $8000 to 16000. According to GovSalaries.com, the average coroner salary for three surveyed counties was $12,000. Another Missouri bill is attempting to increase this by up to $14,000.
WYOMING
Wyoming may be Pennsylvania’s competition for lowest standards for coroners. I could not find any requirements to run for or be appointed coroner in this state. Once elected, a state Board of Coroner Standards requires coroners to complete “a basic coroner course” not later than one year after assuming office.
This does NOT necessarily mean that Wyoming’s coroners aren’t qualified or good at their jobs. At least one office is accredited (Natrona County, re-accredited in 2023) and several coroners are physicians. I’d particularly like to highlight the great work Rebecca Reid is doing as Coroner of Laramie County (Cheyenne). Reid trained in death investigation at a Florida medical examiner office. After moving to Wyoming, she became a deputy coroner and eventually coroner. One of her recent notable achievements is beginning a grief support group.
PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania may have the dubious distinction of the lowest standards for coroners:
- at least eighteen years of age
- a citizen of the United States and a resident of the county
- shall have resided within the county for one year next preceding his election
Like Wyoming, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some qualified coroners and even a few accredited offices. But with no real requirements, it’s up to the voters to decide who investigates suspicious cases ranging from infant deaths to deaths in custody.
Coroners or Medical Examiners?
Yes, it would be great if every state had a medical examiner system. But it’s not politically realistic in most places. The serious shortage of forensic pathologists and the cost to convert a coroner system to a medical examiner system are two other obstacles.
What we can do upgrade the coroner system. Legislation to raise the minimum standards for those running for coroner is an essential first step.