Kansas voters reject GOP-backed measure to directly elect state Supreme Court justices
The rejected amendment would have let Kansans elect Supreme Court justices directly and replaced a merit-based nomination system in place since 1958.
- On Tuesday, Kansas voters rejected a GOP-backed constitutional amendment to replace the merit-based Supreme Court nomination system with direct statewide elections, according to the Associated Press.
- For nearly 70 years, Kansas has used a merit-based system where a nine-member Supreme Court Nominating Commission screens applicants for the governor to appoint, with justices serving six-year terms.
- Republican Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach spearheaded the amendment, citing the 2019 abortion ruling, while Former Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss warned elections could compromise judicial integrity by inviting donor influence.
- Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, said, "We believed Kansans four years ago when they voted overwhelmingly to protect abortion rights in the state constitution." Kansas National Education Association President Sherri Schwanz praised educators who mobilized to defend schools.
- The result preserves the nearly 70-year-old merit-based selection framework, halting conservative attempts to reshape the Supreme Court's ideological direction through electoral pressure on judicial candidates.
25 Articles
25 Articles
Kansas Supreme Court Will Remain Radically Pro-Abortion After Amendment is Defeated
An amendment to the Kansas Constitution that would have allowed the people of the Sunflower State to elect Supreme Court Justices went down in flames during the Primary Election held on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, due in part to heavy financial support from Planned Parenthood and the Open Society Policy Center. OSPC is an organization run […] The post Kansas Supreme Court Will Remain Radically Pro-Abortion After Amendment is Defeated appeared first…
Kansas votes to keep politics out of its highest court
Bianna Golodryga speaks to former Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss about why voters rejected a proposal to elect the state’s highest court justices and what the result says about judicial independence.
Kansas voters reject judicial selection amendment - The Leavenworth Times
They did it again.Kansans supporting abortion rights and public education turned out en masse Tuesday to send a decisive message to Republican power brokers determined… Login to continue reading Login Sign up for complimentary access Sign Up Now Close The post Kansas voters reject judicial selection amendment appeared first on The Leavenworth Times.
Kansas Voters Reject Anti-Abortion Ballot Measure
The New York Times reports: Kansas voters on Tuesday rejected a ballot measure that would have required state Supreme Court justices to be popularly elected rather than appointed by the governor, dealing another setback to Republican lawmakers trying to overturn a decision that established a constitutional right to abortion. That ruling in 2019 has preserved Kansas as a significant abortion provider for women in a wide swath of middle-American s…
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