Etched inside the Kansas Supreme Court is the phrase, “Within these walls the balance of justice weighs equal.” As data center proposals spread across the state, construction is likely to be stalled by lawsuits. Now more than ever, it is vital that we have impartial, fair justices to preside over these legal proceedings.
Billionaires and the world’s first trillionaire loathe the word ‘no’. Their unimaginable wealth has afforded them immense economic and political power, as well as the ability to buy off institutional resistance to protect their profits. Many of these ultra-wealthy people are now flexing their financial might to barrel through municipal development procedures and win public subsidies for their data center projects across the country, no matter the toll on communities and natural resources.
When the question of whether an AI data center should move into town arises, Kansans fill venues beyond their capacity to voice strong opposition. These debates have sprung up across Kansas, in towns like El Dorado, Wellington, Garden City, Emporia, Pittsburg, De Soto, Lawrence, Manhattan, Osawatomie, and the list is growing. Many Kansans don’t want their tax dollars to subsidize a billionaire’s data center, and they don’t want to pay the higher utility and water bills that result.
When communities clash with data center billionaires in legal battles, as we have already seen in Virginia, North Carolina, California, and Massachusetts, it is critical to have impartial justices.
Our current merit-selection and retention election process was the people’s response to political corruption in the Kansas Supreme Court. Approved by Kansas voters in 1958, our judicial selection process insulates justices from the influence of political money, preserves a true separation of powers in Kansas, and gives our justices the independence to uphold the Constitution and stand up to wrongdoers of any class or political party. Every Kansas voter has the opportunity to weigh in on whether each justice keeps their job in statewide retention elections. Kansans are asked to evaluate the justices based on their performance, not on their ability to raise millions of dollars for a political campaign.
The Kansas Supreme Court, assembled via a system immune to the sway of money, has issued rulings that preserve local control and empower communities to decide for themselves whether certain developments, such as data centers, suit their interest.
AI billionaires who want to bring their data centers to Kansas are salivating at the prospect of buying judges’ support through campaign donations if the amendment passes. We know this because of what happened in the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Over $100 million was spent to secure only one seat on its highest court, with tens of millions donated by out-of-state tech moguls and other billionaires. In states where their Supreme Court races are open to financial interference, wealthy individuals and corporations donate to judicial candidates who could resolve legal disputes in their favor.
Kansas Supreme Court Justices are constitutionally prohibited from directly soliciting and receiving a single dollar from any individual, corporation, or political party. That would drastically change if this August 4th ballot amendment passes in Kansas. AI billionaires and other wealthy interests will tip the scales of justice in their favor if we allow the weight of their money and power to determine who sits on our highest court.
Every Kansas voter, Republican, Democrat, independent or otherwise, can – and should – vote no to send a clear message that our Supreme Court is not for sale.
