Here is a look at how each of the nine members of the Supreme Court Nominating Commission voted in recommending three candidates to Gov. Laura Kelly to pick for a seat on the Kansas Supreme Court.
The commission, made up of five lawyers and four nonlawyers, voted in five rounds by paper ballot.
In the sixth and final vote, the panel voted unanimously to recommend three candidates — Evelyn Wilson, Steve Obermeier and Dennis Depew — to the governor for her appointment decision.
Depew was set aside for recommendation after two rounds in which he led the field in votes.
The panel voted using paper ballots, which were preserved for review under the state open records law. The votes, other than the final vote, were not done publicly. The ballots had to be requested in writing from the appellate clerk.
The first round was intended to reduce the field from 19 applicants to six. There were 20 applicants originally, but one withdrew.
There was a supplementary first round because six candidates were deadlocked at four votes each, making it impossible to narrow the field to six.
The commission moved to a second round where the field was narrowed to 10 candidates and subsequently winnowed from there.
Now, here’s a look at the round-by-round ballot cast by each of the commissioners. With each name, we list hometown, how they were named to the commission and when their term expires.
Here is a list of bios of each commissioner if you want to know more plus capsules on each candidate.
Linda Weis
Manhattan
Appointed by Gov. Sam Brownback
Term expires 2022
Round 1 (Vote for up to six candidates)
Daniel Cahill, district court judge, Wyandotte County
Dennis Depew, deputy attorney general
Randall Hodgkinson, visiting assistant professor of law at Washburn University.
Steve Obermeier, assistant state solicitor general
Russell Keller, clerk to a federal appeals court judge
Lyndon Vix, lawyer
Round 1A (To break six-way tie after first round)
Hodgkinson
Vix
Round 2 (Vote for up to three candidates)
Depew
Obermeier
Vix
Round 3 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Obermeier
Hodgkinson
Round 4 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Obermeier
Evelyn Wilson, Shawnee County judge
Robert Hayworth
Stilwell
Appointed by Brownback
Term expires 2020
Round 1 (Vote for up to six candidates)
Cahill
Depew
Obermeier
Kristen Wheeler, clerk to federal judge
Thomas Malone, state appeals court judge
Keynen Wall, attorney
Round 1A (To break six-way tie)
Wall
Wheeler
Round 2 (Vote for up to three candidates)
Depew
Malone
Obermeier
Round 3 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Obermeier
Malone
Round 4 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Obermeier
Dennis Hedke
Andover
Appointed by Brownback
Term expires: 2021
Round 1 (Vote for up to six candidates)
Cahill
Depew
Malone
Obermeier
Wall
Wheeler
Round 1A (To break six-way tie)
Wheeler
Wall
Round 2 (Vote for up to three candidates)
Depew
Malone
Obermeier
Round 3 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Malone
Obermeier
Round 4 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Obermeier
Frances Gorman Graves
Bartlett
Appointed by Gov. Laura Kelly
Term expires 2023
Round 1 (Vote for up to six candidates)
Cahill
Depew
Hodgkinson
Wilson
Melissa Standridge, appeals court judge
Rhonda Mason, Johnson County district judge
Round 1A (To break six-way tie)
Wilson
Hodgkinson
Round 2 (Vote for up to three candidates)
Depew
Hodgkinson
Wilson
Round 3 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Wilson
Standridge
Round 4 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Wilson
Standridge
Terry Campbell
Lawrence
Elected by lawyers in 2nd Congressional District
Term expires 2023
Round 1 (Vote for up to six candidates)
Depew
Hodgkinson
Keller
Malone
Standridge
Wheeler
Round 1A (To break six-way tie)
Standridge
Wheeler
Round 2 (Vote for up to three candidates)
Hodgkinson
Standridge
Wheeler
Round 3 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Hodgkinson
Standridge
Round 4 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Obermeier
Standridge
Gloria Farha Flentje
Wichita
Elected by lawyers in 4th Congressional District
Term expires 2021
Round 1 (Vote for up to six candidates)
Cahill
Depew
Obermeier
Standridge
Wall
Wilson
Round 1A (To break six-way tie)
Standridge
Wilson
Round 2 (Vote for up to three candidates)
Standridge
Wall
Wilson
Round 3 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Standridge
Wilson
Round 4 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Standridge
Wilson
Lenin V. Guerra
Olathe
Elected by lawyers in the 3rd Congressional District
Term expires 2020
Round 1 (Vote for up to six candidates)
Depew
Malone
Obermeier
Wall
Vix
Michael Joyce, Johnson County district judge
Round 1A (To break six-way tie)
Wall
Vix
Round 2 (Vote for up to three candidates)
Depew
Malone
Obermeier
Round 3 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Malone
Obermeier
Round 4 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Obermeier
Gerald O. Schultz
Garden City
Elected by lawyers in 1st Congressional District
Term expires 2022
Round 1 (Vote for up to six candidates)
Depew
Malone
Standridge
Vix
Wheeler
Wilson
Round 1A (To break six-way tie)
Standridge
Vix
Round 2 (Vote for up to three candidates)
Depew
Standridge
Vix
Round 3 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Standridge
Wilson
Round 4 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Standridge
Wilson
Mikel Stout
Wichita
Chair of the commission
Elected by lawyers statewide
Term expires 2021
Round 1 (Vote for up to six candidates)
Depew
Hodgkinson
Malone
Obermeier
Vix
Wilson
Round 1A (To break six-way tie)
Hodgkinson
Wilson
Round 2 (Vote for up to three candidates)
Hodgkinson
Malone
Wilson
Round 3 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Hodgkinson
Wilson
Round 4 (Vote for up to two candidates)
Obermeier
Wilson
