Soros-linked Open Society Policy Center gave $400,000; ACLU, Planned Parenthood and major donors provide millions more

NEW YORK, N.Y. – A political advocacy organization affiliated with the Open Society network founded by billionaire George Soros has contributed $400,000 to the campaign opposing the Aug. 4 constitutional amendment that would allow Kansans to elect their state Supreme Court justices.

Soros’ involvment demonstrates an irony among the league of opponents hoping to keep Kansas voters from exercising their choice among contenders for Kansas Supreme Court Justice posts: While warning that billionaires could donate to KSSC justice political campaigns, those very opponents fund their fight with funds from billionaires and “dark money” organizations.

The contribution from the Open Society Policy Center appears in the latest campaign-finance report filed by Kansas United for Impartial Courts, the principal organization urging voters to reject the amendment. The money came from the center’s New York office and was included in the committee’s July 20 disclosure report.

Open Society Policy Center now operates publicly as the Open Society Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) organization that says it seeks to influence domestic and international public policy. Its board includes Alex Soros, son of George Soros, and Andrea Soros Colombel, Soros’ daughter. The Open Society Foundations acknowledge that George Soros founded the network and has provided it with more than $32 billion. The Kansas contribution was reported in the name of the Open Society Policy Center, not as a personal donation from George Soros.

The Kansas amendment on the ballot Aug. 4 would abolish the present system in which a lawyer-controlled nominating commission sends three candidates to the governor, who appoints one. Justices subsequently face retention votes. Under the amendment, justices would instead be chosen in statewide partisan elections for six-year terms.

Opposition campaign raises $7.6 million

Kansas United for Impartial Courts reported receiving $7,635,371.03 in cash contributions and other receipts during 2026 through July 20, along with $260,515.92 in in-kind support. It reported spending $6,600,675.29 during the same period.

The report was signed by campaign chairman Micah Kubic, who is also executive director of the ACLU of Kansas.

The Kansas Public Disclosure Commission website lists both “Kansas United for Impartial Courts” and “Kansans United for Impartial Courts” as reporting entities. Both use the same Lawrence post office box and their reports are signed by Kubic. The high-dollar July report was filed under the name Kansas United for Impartial Courts.

ACLU organizations provide $2.1 million

The largest organizational source of cash in the 2026 report is the ACLU network.

The national American Civil Liberties Union contributed a total of $1.25 million, consisting of one $250,000 contribution and another $1 million contribution.

The ACLU of Kansas contributed another $600,000, through contributions of $100,000 and $500,000. The ACLU Foundation of Kansas gave $250,000.

Together, those ACLU organizations provided $2.1 million in cash during the reporting period. They also supplied more than $54,000 in in-kind assistance, including $45,922 from the ACLU of Kansas and $8,169 from the national organization.

The ACLU’s financial role is accompanied by direct control of the campaign organization. Kubic serves as both ACLU of Kansas executive director and Kansas United chairman. The campaign’s public materials identify him as its chair.

Planned Parenthood groups give $1.45 million

Abortion-rights organizations are another major component of the opposition campaign’s funding.

The national Planned Parenthood Action Fund gave three contributions totaling $1 million. The report shows two $400,000 contributions and another for $200,000.

Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, based in Overland Park, contributed another $450,000, through separate donations of $200,000 and $250,000.

Together, the two Planned Parenthood organizations provided $1.45 million in cash. They also supplied approximately $47,586 in in-kind assistance.

The campaign makes no secret of abortion’s importance to its effort. Its issues page warns that elected justices could revisit Kansas Supreme Court decisions protecting abortion rights. The organization also points to school funding, workers’ claims and other constitutional disputes as reasons to retain the present selection system.

Individual donor gives $1 million

Tulsa philanthropist Lynn Schusterman gave the campaign $1 million, matching the largest single contribution listed in the report.

Schusterman is the founder and chair emerita of Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. The organization says its U.S. priorities include democracy and voting rights, gender and reproductive equity, criminal justice, education and racial and economic equity.

Other major organizational contributors included:

The National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union, gave $250,000.

Health Forward Foundation, a Kansas City-area health philanthropy, gave $175,000.

Kansas Fair Court Fund, based in Lawrence, contributed $115,921.36.

Law firms pour money into campaign

Law firms and members of the legal profession also represent a substantial portion of the campaign’s financial base.

At least nine law firms or legal businesses reported $100,000 contributions during the period:

DM Law Kansas City LLC; DM Law Kansas City LLC, Johnson & Bergman; Prochaska Law Firm LLC; Davis Bethune & Jones LLC; Langdon & Emison LLC; Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP; Dickerson Oxton LLC; and Wagstaff & Cartmell LLP.

Dollar, Burns, Becker & Hershewe contributed $90,000. Several other firms gave $50,000 or $25,000, while the Kansas Bar Association contributed $25,000. Attorney Nicholas Rowley also gave $100,000.

The legal community has a direct institutional interest in the vote. Under the current system, lawyers elect five of the nine members of the Supreme Court Nominating Commission, including its chairman. The governor appoints the other four members, who are not lawyers.

Abortion-rights group supplies campaign services

One of the largest in-kind contributors was Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, commonly known as URGE. It provided $148,825.31 in staff time, services or other noncash support.

Other reported in-kind assistance included $46,792 from Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, $45,922 from the ACLU of Kansas, $8,169 from the national ACLU, $6,850 from Kansas Values Institute and $2,964 from the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association.

National money arrived early

A separate report filed under the name “Kansans United for Impartial Courts” shows that national organizations began financing the opposition campaign during 2025.

That report listed $750,000 from the national ACLU Foundation, $200,000 from American Opportunity Action, $150,000 from Planned Parenthood Great Plains, $50,000 from Global Impact Social Welfare Fund and approximately $60,000 from Kansas Values Institute. It reported $1.5 million in total receipts and about $1.28 million spent on television advertising through the Washington-based firm Waterfront Strategies.

Some ACLU-related money was subsequently refunded or moved between the two similarly named reporting entities, so the totals in the separate reports cannot simply be added together without accounting for those transactions.

Supporters of the amendment counter that Kansas voters are capable of choosing their own Supreme Court justices just as they elect governors, legislators, sheriffs, county commissioners and many district court judges.

The disclosure reports establish that opposition to the amendment extends far beyond Kansas’ borders; a multimillion-dollar campaign heavily financed by national progressive organizations, the Soros-founded Open Society network, Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and major members of the legal profession.