Kansas voters will decide in August whether Supreme Court justices will continue to be selected through a merit-based system with public retention votes or through statewide elections. The current process, in place for nearly 70 years since the late 1950s, relies on a nominating commission to recommend candidates to the governor.

Seven candidates applied to fill the vacancy left by outgoing Justice Marla Luckert’s retirement. Each spent about 30 minutes answering detailed questions from the nominating commission about their legal approach and judicial philosophy. The commission selected three finalists, and Governor Laura Kelly will appoint one of them to the Kansas Supreme Court.

Commission chairman Terry Campbell said, "The voters of Kansas back in the late 1950s adopted a process to try to ensure that we have fair and impartial courts here in the state of Kansas. It’s worked quite well." He added, "We’ve had a Supreme Court over the years that has reversed both the policies of Democratic governors and the policies of Republican governors. It’s resulted in a process whereby Supreme Court justices are beholden to the people of Kansas and the Kansas Constitution, and not beholden to billionaire donors to fund their election campaigns."

One of the three finalists, Judge Robert Wonnell, addressed the possible shift to elections. "It’s a question and an issue that I cannot control. It is something that I would be willing to engage and discuss and collaborate, but if I were selected to serve on the Supreme Court, and if the process were to change, I don’t know that I am capable or could become a political animal." Wonnell said he would focus on presenting his record and the importance of judicial independence rather than engaging in adversarial campaigning.

District Court Judge Carl Folsom, another finalist, said, "If the people of Kansas say that that’s the type of selection that they would like to do, and I’m a member of the court, I would plan to seek reelection in whatever fashion the law allows me to do that. And I would have to go through that process."

Kansas Supreme Court justices currently face voters through retention elections, which have remained placid thus far. Video recordings of the nominating committee’s sessions are available on YouTube.