Kansas voters will have a say in whether the mechanism used to pick the state’s Supreme Court justices will change.
After the Kansas Senate approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 1611 earlier in the session, the House did likewise Wednesday. SCR 1611 is designed as a constitutional amendment to put justices on the ballot along with district court judges. This process would replace the longstanding Nominating Commission process, where commission members review applications, conduct interviews and send three finalists to the governor — who then appoints one person for the opening. This will not change the re-election process.
Supporters have said this puts the selection power in the hands of the people as opposed to a panel of attorneys. Critics say this politicizes a process where politics should be left out as much as possible.
13th District Representative Duane Droge of Eureka and 76th District Representative Brad Barrett of Osage City voted for SCR 1611. 17th District Senator Mike Argabright of Olpe and 60th District Representative Mark Schreiber of Emporia voted against it.
The resolution is now on the Aug. 5 ballot.
