Why are the people who are worried about voter fraud pushing us to “elect” our Supreme Court Justices? If there’s so much voter fraud, how did they get elected themselves? I’ve seen their signs–Vote for “Democracy” Elect our Justices. What kind of democracy are they promoting? The kind that has eroded our national democracy in such a short time?

Why is the language on the ballot question unclear? Why are there so many open-ended statements? What do they really want?

Should we change the Kansas constitution to allow voters to elect our Supreme Court Justices? This is a strange notion, since we voters already have the final say on our Supreme Court Justices in the periodic retention questions for each of them. (“Shall [insert name here] be retained in office?” remember those ballot questions)

As in 2022, we find ourselves facing an important question in the Primary election. Why put it on the August ballot? Do you suppose it’s because there is usually a light turnout for that election, and thus it’s more likely to pass when fewer Kansas voters weigh in on the decision?

Should it pass? We have benefitted from our current merit-based selection process since a Triple Play scandal in 1956 handed out a Supreme Court seat as a political favor. The merit-based system was overwhelmingly supported by our parents and grandparents because of that scandal and it is the envy of other states that still elect their Supreme Court Justices.

Our system utilizes a commission with representatives from all across the state. One attorney chosen by colleagues in each Congressional district, and one citizen selected by the governor from those districts make up the commission, with a chair person elected by all Kansas attorneys, making a total of nine commission members. When a vacancy in our Court occurs, the commission studies qualifications for each applicant to the Court, and selects three from which the governor will choose the next Justice. Voters choose to retain or replace a Justice after one year, and every six years following that.

Due to the statewide nature of the selection process, Kansas leads the nation in rural representation on our Supreme Court. Our system keeps politics out, allowing the Court to rule fairly, weighing evidence based on our laws and Constitution, not on who paid the most in support of a candidacy. We don’t need billionaire bucks from out-of-state to overwhelm our process like we witnessed recently in Wisconsin. This is a very real prospect, since the billionaires who seek to site the massive AI Data centers across rural America are very much in favor of the election for Justices.

Ours is a fair and impartial system. Let’s keep it that way. Vote “NO” on the proposed amendment in August.