‘They just want to educate,’ JoCo Library event helps Kansas voters learn about constitutional amendment

KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas, including Olathe and Lenexa. Share your story idea with Olivia.

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A constitutional amendment on the Kansas August 4 ballot could change how the state's Supreme Court justices are chosen, and a free event Tuesday aims to help voters understand what's at stake before election day.

The Johnson County Central Resource Library is hosting the event, presented by the Johnson County Bar Civics Education Committee. It features Hon. Karen Arnold-Burger, Chief Judge of the Kansas Court of Appeals, and attorney Katie McClaflin.

Arnold-Burger was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2011 and has been retained through public retention elections since.

The two will educate voters on what’s on their August ballot. There hasn't been a change to the process for selecting Kansas Supreme Court justices since 1958.

Currently, when there's an opening on the Kansas Supreme Court, a 9-member nominating commission reviews applicants and sends 3 finalists to the governor, who appoints one justice. After serving at least a year, voters decide whether to keep that justice through a retention election.

If the August 4 constitutional amendment passes, that commission would be eliminated and Kansans would instead elect Supreme Court justices in statewide elections.

The library event will explain the exact proposal, how the current system works, and what could change.

Johnson County resident Coco McAtee reached out to me about this event, and told me why she wants people to attend.

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"I reached out because I, myself, was confused about what the amendment was about, and this is a forum that obviously would help, wherever you are on the spectrum, it would help you understand what the amendment is," McAtee said.

The event is free and starts at 6 p.m. For those who can't attend, the Johnson County Election website and the Secretary of State's office both have more information about what this question will look like on the ballot.

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