# Kansas Elected Supreme Court Amendment (2026) A legislatively referred constitutional amendment on Kansas's August 4, 2026 primary ballot that would abolish the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission and replace merit-based judicial selection with direct elections for all seven justices. ## Context The Kansas Supreme Court has been a persistent obstacle to the state's Republican supermajority. The court blocked abortion restrictions (the Kansas constitution's privacy protections predated the [[Post-Dobbs Ballot Measures]] by years) and has been a major force in school funding equalization litigation. By replacing the nominating commission with elections, the amendment would open judicial seats to the same [[Dark Money]] flows that dominate legislative and federal races — extending the [[Federalist Society]]'s judicial capture strategy from the federal bench to the state level. ## Legislative Action Passed the Kansas Senate 27–13 and House 84–40 on party-line votes (93% Republican support, near-unanimous Democratic opposition). Placed on the August primary ballot — a low-turnout election that historically favors conservative electorates, the same timing strategy anti-abortion forces tried (and failed) to exploit in Kansas in August 2022. ## Related - [[Federalist Society]], [[Leonard Leo]] — the judicial capture playbook - [[Dark Money]], [[Dark Money Ecosystem]] - [[Post-Dobbs Ballot Measures]] — Kansas's 2022 abortion vote as precedent - [[Supreme Court of the United States]] — federal-level parallel - [[2026 Ballot Measures Hub]], [[2026 Midterms Hub]]