KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Legal experts are predicting that elections to decide whether to retain judges will continue to become more politicized, both in Kansas and across the country.

This year, Kansas Supreme Court justices Eric Rosen and Lee Johnson kept their seats with about 53 percent of the vote — well below the usual margins of 70 percent in most judicial elections.

The Kansas City Star reports political battles over judges are expected to intensify because Kansas campaign laws don’t cover retention elections for the state Supreme Court. That allows more money from outside the state to affect the judicial elections.

Critics fear the change will pressure justices to allow politics to influence their rulings, rather than sticking with the rule of law.