TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) \u2014 Kansas voters will decide Tuesday whether to elect state Supreme Court justices rather than have the governor appoint them, a push from conservatives who have chafed for years over court decisions they disagreed with on issues such as abortion, school funding and the death penalty.<\/p>\n
If the constitutional amendment passes, supporters hope to elect at least four conservative, anti-abortion justices to the seven-member court by 2033.<\/p>\n
Kansas is considering the change amid concerns that increasingly contentious and expensive<\/a> judicial elections in other states are making their courts more partisan and less independent. Spending in a single state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin last year topped $100 million.<\/a><\/p>\n Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a term-limited Democrat who opposes the measure, said gerrymandering and dark money have put the Legislature out of step with the state and, \u201cto think you can make the judicial branch a part of that dysfunctional system is frightening.\u201d<\/p>\n Republicans have a long list of rulings they question<\/p>\n GOP lawmakers cite multiple rulings by Kansas courts over the past two decades as reasons for change. <\/p>\n Most recently, a district court judge earlier this month reinstated a three-day grace period for voters to return mail ballots after Election Day, which GOP lawmakers had eliminated<\/a>. Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, seeking the Republican nomination for governor, called the decision \u201coutrageous\u201d and urged people to vote yes on the ballot question.<\/p>\n The same judge \u2014 a finalist to fill the most recent Supreme Court vacancy \u2014 blocked enforcement<\/a> of a 2025 law<\/a> banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Masterson described him as \u201cradical.\u201d<\/p>\n The list of rulings Republicans criticize also includes rulings on education funding back to 2004. Supreme Court decisions forced lawmakers to increase<\/a> funding to comply with the state constitution.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we elect our Supreme Court, they won\u2019t force you to spend money on schools,\u201d Masterson said in remarks in November to a conservative group, the Marion County Patriots for Liberty, the Marion County Record reported<\/a>. <\/p>\n Abortion remains a key issue on both sides<\/p>\n Electing state Supreme Court justices gained currency among Republicans after a 2022 public vote<\/a> affirming the high court\u2019s landmark 2019 decision<\/a> that Kansas\u2019 bill of rights guarantees bodily autonomy and access to abortion. Total spending by both sides has exceeded $12 million. <\/p>\n Legislators who worked to overturn the Supreme Court\u2019s protections, including Masterson, helped write this year\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n Seven weeks after that 2022 vote, Attorney General Kris Kobach, then a GOP candidate for the office, told a Republican club in Wichita that electing justices would \u201cslowly and quietly\u201d put anti-abortion justices on the high court. <\/p>\n The vote-yes campaign\u2019s biggest donor \u2014 providing $1.7 million toward the campaign\u2019s $3.7 million in spending \u2014 is a Nashville-based nonprofit that supports Republican candidates, groups and causes. Kansans for Life, the state\u2019s most influential anti-abortion group, has spent at least $87,000 over the past 11 days on mailers and texts.<\/p>\n