Note: The Lawrence Times runs opinion columns and letters to the Times written by community members with varying perspectives on local issues. These pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Times staff.
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We Kansans will be voting on whether to “retain” — or keep — our state court judges. Retention elections are not new in Kansas, but the number of judges up for retention this election — 13 out of 21 — is astoundingly high.
Why should we care? Because retaining these 13 judges will protect our August vote on abortion rights.
In Kansas, the governor appoints our judges to the state Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. Thereafter, we voters periodically get to decide whether to keep each judge who is up for retention. State court judges are up for retention 1) the first general election after being appointed by the governor and 2) every six years after that.
When we vote “yes” to retain a judge, that judge keeps their job. When we vote “no,” that judge loses their job, which creates a vacancy at the court. How is this vacancy filled? See above: The governor appoints the new judge.
If Kansas voters don’t retain our state court judges, the governor — who will be either Laura Kelly or Derek Schmidt — will replace those judges. And if Schmidt is elected, be sure he’ll appoint 13 anti-abortion judges who will uphold draconian abortion restrictions and outright abortion bans.
Vote “yes” to retain all of our judges so there are no judge vacancies for Schmidt to fill if he wins the governor’s race.
— Amii N. Castle (she/her), Lawrence
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More Community Voices:
Letter to the Times: City should create oversight committee to guide pool renovation project, rebuild trust
”Our petition’s 1,764 signatures, our supporters’ 75 letters, and our research into the extensive flaws in the (pool renovation) community engagement process all indicate that the previously proposed plan did not reflect public opinion,” Holly Krebs writes in this letter to the Times.
Shawn Alexander: Say his name – Fred Harvey Smith (Column)
”Racial violence has been omnipresent in American history, and in far too many of the incidents, the perpetrators of the crime are acquitted or not even brought up on charges. When I think of such cases I am often haunted by the heinous murder of Fred Harvey Smith here in the land of John Brown in May 1936,” Shawn Alexander writes in this column.
Letter to the Times: Are veterans’ sacrifices for democracy worthless?
”My father (Navy), mother (Army), and many other family members served our country in World War II. … They gave of themselves, in countless ways, to stop the spread of authoritarianism, suppression of freedoms and tyranny of the many by the few,” Sandy Sanders writes in this letter to the Times.
