Kansas Supreme Court Justices are currently selected by a nominating commission that submit three names to the governor, and the governor picks one of the three to be a justice. The reason this process was put into effect for selecting state supreme court justices is that the powers that be felt that Kansas voters were not smart enough to select their supreme court justices and that it had to be handled by professional lawyers. This process has failed Kansans. You may have heard, the U. S. Supreme Court has allegedly overturned more Kansas supreme court rulings than any other state per capita.
This could change, because on the August 4, 2026, ballot Kansas voters will have an option to keep the current process or change it to electing state supreme court justices. Why would Kansas consider changing the selection process of justices? Senator Caryn Tyson says… to increase transparency and public trust. It has been argued that judicial activism is a “threat to democratic principles and the rule of law… by allowing unelected judges to make decisions that should be left to the people or their elected representatives. A super majority of legislators supported putting this change on the ballot and voters will get to have their voices heard.
