Kansas voters keep governor’s role in picking Supreme Court justices
Republican-backed amendment to elect justices rejected in primary ballot, preserving current appointment system
MediaBias Comparison Desk
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised
This article was written at the MediaBias News desk from the one-paragraph digests an aggregator publishes for each of the outlets listed below it, together with 2 of those outlets' own reports read in full. How we do it
Kansas voters keep governor’s role in picking Supreme Court justices
Photograph: wibw.com (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Kansas voters rejected a proposed amendment to elect Supreme Court justices, preserving the current appointment system.
- The amendment was placed on the primary ballot by the Republican-controlled Legislature after court rulings against the party on issues including abortion.
- The Supreme Court Nominating Commission will continue to review candidates and send finalists to the governor for selection.
- No right-rated outlet carried the story, according to the reports below.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 9 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
62/100
Craft
51/100
Hype
21/100
9 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 9 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Kansas voters rejected a constitutional amendment on 5 August 2026 that would have changed how state Supreme Court justices are selected. The current system, where a nominating commission reviews candidates and sends three finalists to the governor for appointment, will remain in place. The Associated Press projected the result after the primary ballot count.
The amendment was referred to the ballot by the Republican-controlled Legislature. The state Supreme Court had previously ruled against the Republican party on issues such as abortion, as reported by NBC News. The nominating commission’s role in vetting candidates was noted by wibw.com as continuing unchanged.
What the coverage left out
No right-rated outlet ran the story at all, according to the reports printed below. None of the digests mentioned the margin of the vote or the turnout figures. The role of the governor in the current appointment process was described only in general terms, with no detail on how often governors have rejected the commission’s finalists or the political affiliations of past appointees.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 5 Aug 2026, 03:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- The single left-rated digest, from NBC News, led on the Republican party’s role in placing the amendment on the ballot. It noted that the state Supreme Court had ruled against the party on issues including abortion, framing the vote as a response to those rulings. The digest did not mention the nominating commission’s process or the governor’s role in appointments.
Centre
5 rated outlets
- The four centre-rated digests all reported the rejection of the amendment and the preservation of the current appointment system. KMBC and KWCH12 Wichita News led on the outcome of the vote, while wibw.com highlighted the continued role of the Supreme Court Nominating Commission. Political Wire, citing the New York Times, linked the amendment to Republican efforts to overturn a 2019 court decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.
- None of the centre-rated digests mentioned the Republican party’s motivation for placing the amendment on the ballot, as NBC News did. KWCH12 Wichita News noted that the amendment could have shifted the selection process away from the governor’s appointment system, but did not elaborate on the political context.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Read it at the source
9 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- ‘Vote no’ camp declares victory with Kansas voters rejecting constitutional amendment by wide margin (opens Kansas Reflector in a new tab)
Kansas Reflector
- Kansas voters reject another attempt to reshape the state’s abortion landscape (opens The 19th in a new tab)
The 19th
- Kansas voters reject GOP-backed measure to directly elect state Supreme Court justices (opens NBC News in a new tab)
- Kansas voters reject electing state Supreme Court justices as constitutional amendment fails (opens kcur.org in a new tab)
kcur.org
Centre
5- Kansas voters reject constitutional amendment on Supreme Court selection (opens KMBC in a new tab)
- Kansans vote ‘no’ on constitutional amendment to change Supreme Court selection (opens wibw.com in a new tab)
wibw.com
- Kansas rejects direct Supreme Court elections in a blow to conservatives (opens The Hill in a new tab)
- Kansans say ‘no’: Selection process remains for Supreme Court justices (opens KWCH12 Wichita News in a new tab)
KWCH12 Wichita News
- Kansas Rejects Measure to Elect State Supreme Court (opens Political Wire in a new tab)
Political Wire — is Political Wire biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
