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Why are Kansans being asked to change our state constitution on August 4, 2026?

The change would make Kansas Supreme Court Justice positions elected instead of appointed. 

It sounds good, doesn’t it?  Why shouldn’t we get to vote on who sits on our state Supreme Court?

The short answer is that it would turn judges into politicians, needing campaign donations from (presumably opinionated) funders, even from out-of-state. 

Could campaign donations from individuals and organizations potentially influence the judges’ future decisions? Would they still be impartial? Who would be backing these people?  

 

The current selection system is designed to prioritize professional evaluation of potential justices. Deep background research is done on candidates. They are vetted by a nine-member Supreme Court Nominating Commission, which has 5 lawyers and 4 non-lawyers representing the entire state. Three finalists are chosen and their names are given to the governor for a final appointment. 

The current selection panel looks for intelligent people of integrity who will uphold the law for our Kansas Supreme Court. So why do some Republican leaders want a different selection system? What would change? 

 

The Kansas Senate president from Andover, Ty Masterson, who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor, explained the plan in a speech he gave to the Marion County Patriots for Liberty.  

Masterson told the group “If we elect our Supreme Court, they won’t force you to spend money on schools,” and he believes an elected court would reverse Supreme Court decisions saying that limits on abortion are unconstitutional. “The solution in Kansas is that Supreme Court election,” he said, “But you can’t go out there and say it because they’ll say that if you elect your Supreme Court, you won’t have any right to abortion anymore.” 

 

No matter how a Kansan feels about school finance, abortion, or any other issue, everyone understands a judge’s job is to APPLY the law, not potentially make decisions based on who gave him or her the most money. 

Kansans currently get to vote whether to retain our Supreme Court justices after the first year, then every six years. 

Our current system is designed to give us the most qualified justices from the beginning. If you want to continue to live under an independent judiciary, vote NO on August 4, 2026.

 

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