Voters Reject Republicans’ Attempt to Ban Abortion in Kansas Through Back Door
The reason that the Supreme Court in such a red state doesn’t move in lockstep with the Republican legislature is its nominating process, known as a “merit-based” system. An independent commission, composed of five lawyers put on the commission by other lawyers and four non-attorneys picked by the governor, chooses candidates to interview for the vacancy from a pool. The commission then nominates three of those candidates, and the governor picks the winner.
Republicans, heavily funded by outside groups — including those tied to the Federalist Society’s Leonard Leo — were pushing to do away with that system and to allow the legislature to shape a still-unwritten law for voters to cast ballots for justices directly. They were gambling that a move to partisan elections would infuse the process with money, party involvement and less independent judges, a benefit to them in a Republican state. North Carolina Republicans were successful in the same endeavor: They switched to partisan elections in 2018, won a majority on the state Supreme Court after the 2022 midterms and quickly got results, including an about-face on gerrymandering.
Read more at Talking Points Memo
Kansas voters reject electing state Supreme Court justices as constitutional amendment fails
Kansas voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have changed to electing state Supreme Court justices, in a win for groups that were concerned the change would impact abortion rights and school funding.
Read more at KCUR.org
Kansas voters reject another attempt to reshape the state’s abortion landscape
Reproductive rights supporters framed the ballot measure to elect state justices as an attempt to weaken abortion rights.
Read more at 19th News