Senate Republicans are pursuing a ballot question to make the Kansas Supreme Court an elected office, dismantling a decades-old merit-based nomination system for justices that voters put in place after a notorious scandal.
The move is largely a response to a high court decision establishing the right to terminate a pregnancy and three decades of court-imposed compliance with a constitutional mandate to provide suitable funding for public schools.
If adopted with two-thirds majorities in both the Senate and House, Senate Concurrent Resolution 1611 would place a loaded question before voters on the 2026 general election ballot. The question would ask voters to replace the current nominating commission, “whose membership consists of a majority of lawyers,” with direct election of justices. The seven justice seats would be divided among the 2028, 2030 and 2032 elections, and terms would last six years.
Republicans and special interest groups that align with Republicans favor the change, which they say would shift power from an elitist organization to the people. Opponents raise concerns about reshaping the court through partisan politics and the dark money that dominates political campaigns.