To the editor:

The League of Women Voters of Kansas Opposes the elimination of the Supreme Court Justices’ Merit-based Selection System. We recommend that voters vote NO on the Constitutional Amendment on the Aug. 4 primary election ballot.

Kansas has a fair system that ensures our state Supreme Court justices are unbiased. Justices are nominated through a merit-based process that ensures voices across the state are heard, and Kansans already get to vote on whether justices should keep their jobs. It is a system that balances independence with accountability and has served our state well for generations.

The proposed amendment would dismantle Kansas’s fair system and replace it with partisan elections, turning our justices into politicians. Instead of weighing the law and the facts of each case, they would be forced to answer to political parties, special interest groups, and big donors.

Dr. Marlene Merrill

President of the LWVK

Lawrence