Typically, a constitutional amendment doesn’t get a lot of voter attention — but an amendment designed to change the initial selection method for Kansas Supreme Court justices has done just that.
Kansas Appleseed held a “Justice for All” forum Thursday night, featuring comments from retired Supreme Court Justice Carol Beier, 60th District Representative Mark Schreiber and USD 253 board member Art Gutierrez — all in favor of keeping the current Nominating Commission method. Beier says the current system has worked since it was installed almost 70 years ago.
Beier says she likely would not have sought a seat on the Kansas Supreme Court if a public vote was in play, saying, “I’m not a politician,” and she believes the discussion — let alone the results of the upcoming primary — has already started taking people out of the running.
A member of the Kansas House Judiciary Committee, Schreiber says the Nominating Commission system works.
For Gutierrez, funding public schools — a topic that has had significant time in front of the Kansas Supreme Court in years past — is a major concern. Like Beier and Schreiber, Gutierrez says the current process works — including the retention mechanism.
Amendment supporters say it’s best to have public votes instead. They dismiss concerns about “stacking the court” with judges who could essentially codify the whims of the party in power, adding the Nominating Commission is largely made up of attorneys. Other states have the governor appointing most of the members. Another version has nominating commissions where there is no distinct majority control.
Sunflower State Journal says at least $12 million has been spent on ads in this case, either for or against the amendment. The estimate does not include certain groups that do not have to report their contributions. A similar amount went into the 2022 constitutional amendment on abortion rights. The Value Them Both amendment would have said the Kansas Constitution does not safeguard abortion access had it passed.
Voters will decide during the current primary election cycle, which ends with Election Day on Aug 4.
