STATE OF WASHINGTON
ETHICS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
OPINION NO. 92-4

Question
     May a judge participate in a presidential preference primary governed
by RCW 29.19.050 which reads in part:
Each person desiring to vote in the presidential preference primary shall
receive a ballot request form on which the voter shall sign his or her name
and address and declare that party primary in which he or she wishes to
participate.

Answer
     CJC Canon 7(A)(2) provides that judges shall not identify themselves
as members of a political party.  Because
RCW 29.19.050 does not require an election participant to identify himself
or herself as a member of a political party, a judicial officer may
participate by voting in a presidential preference primary governed by RCW
19.19.050.
     Although the ballot request creates the appearance of endorsing a
particular political party, the Committee interprets this statute and Canon
7(A)(2) narrowly to avoid the disenfranchisement of the judiciary.

Comment
     The situation in Discipline of Blauvelt, 115 Wn.2d 735, 801 P.2d 235
(1990) is distinguishable because at a local caucus and a county convention
the sign-in sheet requires a pledge that the person considers himself or
herself as a member of a particular political party.  The present
presidential primary statute does not require declaration of party
membership.