The Kansas Legislature voted to send a constitutional amendment to the August 2026 ballot that would change how Kansas Supreme Court justices are selected -- from the current appointment system to direct elections by voters.
This measure is widely seen as a response to the Kansas Supreme Court's 2019 ruling in Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt, which found a right to abortion in the Kansas Constitution. Conservative lawmakers argue that judicial elections would make justices more accountable to the people.
A separate amendment on the November ballot would also require that only U.S. citizens can vote in Kansas elections.
An accountable judiciary is essential to representative government. When unelected judges create new constitutional rights from whole cloth, the people deserve the ability to choose their judges directly.
"Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness."
— Exodus 18:21 (KJV)