The Kansas State Legislature voted to send a constitutional amendment to voters that would provide for direct election of state Supreme Court justices and abolish the existing Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission. The amendment states that the seven justices would be elected at staggered general elections with positions 1, 2, and 3 elected in November 2028; positions 4 and 5 elected in November 2030; and positions 6 and 7 elected in November 2032. The terms would remain the same at six years and vacancies would be filled by election as provided for by law.
Currently, the seven justices are selected through the assisted appointment method. The nominating commission is responsible for providing the names of nominees to the governor, who must then select a justice from that list. The commission is made up of nine members, one lawyer and one non-lawyer from each congressional district and one additional lawyer who serves as chairperson. The four non-lawyers are appointed by the governor. Four lawyers are elected by members of the Kansas State Bar in each congressional district. The fifth lawyer is elected by a statewide vote of members of the Kansas State Bar.
Newly appointed justices serve for at least one year, after which they must stand for retention in the next even-year general election. If retained, the justice serves a six-year term and must stand for retention every six years after that point to remain in office. Kansas voters adopted this method in 1958.
The amendment would also repeal a provision prohibiting justices from directly or indirectly making contributions to, holding any office in a political party or organization, or taking part in political campaigns. This prohibition would still apply to lower court judges holding office under a nonpartisan method, except when such judge is seeking election to a position on an appellate court.
The selection of state Supreme Court justices varies by state. Non-partisan elections for supreme court justices are held in 13 states, and partisan elections for supreme court justices are held in eight states. The remaining states use an appointment method, except for Michigan which uses a process that combines nonpartisan general elections preceded by a partisan candidate selection process.
In Kansas, a two-thirds vote is required during one legislative session for the state legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. The state Senate passed the amendment, Senate Concurrent Resolution 1611, in a vote of 27-13 on March 6. The state House passed SCR 1611 by a vote of 84-40 on March 19. Both votes were largely along party lines with 93% of Republicans favoring the amendment and Democrats opposing it.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R) voiced support for the amendment saying, “Today marks an historic turning point in Kansas. Voters will now get to decide whether to reclaim the right to vote for justices, which they enjoyed from statehood until 1958. Polling shows that Kansans overwhelmingly prefer voting on Supreme Court Justices to the status quo. Seventy-four percent support the direct election of Supreme Court Justices, while only 20% like the current attorney-controlled system.”
The amendment received endorsements from Americans for Prosperity, the Kansas Chamber, and the Kansas Policy Institute during the legislative process.
The ACLU of Kansas opposes the amendment and issued the following statement, “This is a blatant attack by the legislators on our justices, and it’s part of a decades-long pattern of politicians attempting to punish the judicial branch for issuing decisions on education and reproductive freedom that they disagree with. … Partisan elections quickly become fights between out-of-state, big money interests. These elections become less about the voters and constituents of the state and more an opportunity for out-of-state big money interests to wage war against one another. And now, lawmakers would like our state’s highest court to be smack in the middle of that war.”
The Kansas Association of Defense Counsel, Kansas Bar Association, Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, and Kansas Women Attorneys Association for Freedom opposed the amendment during the legislative process.
This is the first amendment to be referred to the ballot in Kansas for elections in 2026. A total of 21 ballot measures appeared on statewide ballots between 1985 and 2022. Fifteen ballot measures were approved, and six ballot measures were defeated.