Masterson says why they want Supreme Court justices elected

EVERY Kansas voter needs to 𝗩𝗢𝗧𝗘 𝗡𝗢 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 on the Aug. 4 primary ballot - with early in-person voting starting July 18.

As John J. Francis, law professor at the Washburn University School of Law, writes: What is behind the push to jettison Kansas’ current merit-based system? We’ve heard a hint from Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson. The Marion County Record reports that he told a group of Republicans: “𝗜𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀.”

“On Aug. 4, Kansans will vote on a constitutional amendment to determine how we select Supreme Court justices. The proposed amendment would eliminate our current merit-based selection process, replacing it with a popular election. The details of the proposal will be worked out later by the state Legislature.

The judiciary ensures that laws are interpreted and applied correctly. Faithfully adhering to legal principles sometimes means making unpopular decisions.

Judicial rulings must be the product of sound legal reasoning and interpretation, insulated from the changing winds of public opinion. Justices who interpret our laws must possess intellectual rigor and judicial integrity more than campaigning skills.

The current selection system works well and produces highly qualified justices of whom Kansans consistently approve.”

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘠 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵.

Read entire article: https://kansasreflector.com/2026/07/01/despite-amendment-claims-kansans-already-have-a-voice-in-who-sits-on-the-state-supreme-court/