Kansas voters preserve appointment system, reject direct election for state Supreme Court

Kansas voters rejected a Republican-backed constitutional amendment that would have replaced the governor-appointed, nonpartisan commission–based system for selecting state Supreme Court justices with direct, partisan-style elections. The current process retains appointment by the governor from a list and periodic retention votes, and opponents argued the change would politicize the judiciary, while supporters said it gave voters more input. The campaign drew over $12 million in airwave spending, and observers noted the ballot timing and abortion-rights context as factors, with no changes to the current system.