Kansas voters reject constitutional amendment to elect state Supreme Court justices

Aug 4, 2026

Kansas voters have decisively rejected a Republican-backed constitutional amendment that would have replaced the state's merit-based judicial selection process with direct elections. The defeat preserves the 1958 system where a nominating commission screens candidates for gubernatorial appointment. Opponents, who outspent supporters 2-to-1 in a $12 million campaign, celebrated the outcome as a victory for judicial independence against conservative efforts to target the court over its prior rulings protecting abortion rights and mandating public school funding.

Kansas Supreme Court amendment defeat

▪The Associated Press projected the defeat of the Kansas judicial amendment on August 4, 2026, with "no" votes leading "yes" votes 62% to 38% with 90% of the votes tallied.
▪Kansas voters rejected a Republican-backed constitutional amendment on August 4, 2026, that would have allowed the direct election of state Supreme Court justices.

Current judicial selection process

▪The Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission consists of five lawyers elected by members of the state bar and four non-lawyers appointed by the governor.
▪Kansas voters adopted the current merit-based judicial nominating commission system in 1958 following a political scandal involving a sitting governor and the chief justice.
▪Under the existing Kansas judicial selection system, the governor appoints Supreme Court justices from a list of three finalists selected by a nine-member nominating commission.

Republican legislative motivations

▪Opponents argued that Republican legislators proposed the amendment to punish the Kansas Supreme Court for rulings on abortion and education and to gain partisan control.
▪Republican lawmakers and conservative supporters backed the amendment to give voters a direct voice and reduce the influence of attorneys in selecting Supreme Court justices.

Campaign spending by opponents

▪The campaign over the Kansas judicial selection ballot measure drew more than $12 million in television advertising spending.
▪Opponents of the Kansas judicial selection amendment outspent supporters of the measure by a ratio of more than 2-to-1 on the airwaves.

Abortion rights rulings

▪Kansas voters previously rejected a constitutional amendment in August 2022 that would have overturned the state Supreme Court's 2019 abortion rights ruling.
▪In 2022, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach stated that a direct election amendment would allow conservatives to slowly and quietly place anti-abortion justices on the court.
▪The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the state constitution protects a woman's right to an abortion, dealing a setback to conservative lawmakers.

School funding rulings

▪Opponents of the amendment argued that conservative lawmakers sought to overhaul the court in retribution for judicial mandates requiring the legislature to fully fund public education.
▪The Kansas National Education Association and other school funding advocates mobilized educators to oppose the amendment to protect public school funding.