AGO Opinion Topics: POLITICAL PARTIES

1. If the county commission appoints a person to fill a vacancy in the office of county prosecuting attorney within 60 days of the vacancy occuring, but the appointee declines to accept the position, the authority to fill the vacancy does not transfer to the governor 60 days after the initial vacancy arose.
2. If an individual appointed by a county commission to fill a vacancy in the office of county prosecuting attorney declines to accept the position, the county commission may request that the relevant political party provide a new list of three nominees.
3. The county commission lacks the authority to appoint a person who has not been nominated by the relevant political party to fill a vacancy in the office of county prosecuting attorney.
4. If the county commission appoints an individual who has not been nominated by the relevant political party to fill a vacancy in the office of county prosecuting attorney, that individual lacks the legal authority to act as prosecuting attorney.

(1) The facilities of a state college or university may be used for a candidates' forum to which candidates for elective office would be invited on a nondiscriminatory basis to appear on campus to present their views and respond to questions from the audience, which forum would be sponsored by the student body or some other campus group and would involve no charge to the candidates for attendance or for use of the facilities.  (2) The facilities of a state college or university may be used for the conduct of a political party convention on campus provided that the political party involved actually rents the facilities from the college pursuant to a legitimate lease or rental agreement.  (3) A state college or university may allow student campus groups to sponsor meetings involving organizations such as the "Crab Shell Alliance" group opposing the Trident Base at Bangor and the "Greenpeace" group opposing nuclear power plants, utilizing the public facilities at the college as a forum for such organizations to espouse their beliefs.

1.Whenever a general election is conducted in an even-numbered year, any party with a candidate drawing five percent of the vote for any partisan statewide state or federal office qualifies as a "major party"; this designation holds until an election occurs in an even-numbered year in which one or more statewide partisan offices appear on the ballot and the party in question fails to gain five percent of the vote for any of its statewide candidates.2.For a newly qualified major political party, the first election of precinct committee officers will occur at the next general election occurring in an even-numbered year.3.If a party is not organized pursuant chapter 29.42 RCW, but is newly qualified as a major political party, it may designate the governing body or officers who will perform the functions assigned by law to the county or state committees of a major political party.4.The provisions of RCW 29.45.010(4) restrict membership on a three-person election board to members of the parties whose candidates polled the greatest and the next greatest number of votes in a particular county.5.If the county auditor appoints clerks to expand the size of a precinct election board pursuant to RCW 29.45.020, and there are three or more major parties, appointments should be made in such a way as to make the total membership of the election board as nearly equal among the parties as possible.6.The ballot pick-up and delivery teams mentioned in RCW 29.54.037 should consist of one representative of each major political party which designates a representative for that purpose.

1.  Whenever a general election is conducted in an even-numbered year, any party with a candidate drawing five percent of the vote for any partisan statewide state or federal office qualifies as a "major party"; this designation holds until an election occurs in an even-numbered year in which one or more statewide partisan offices appear on the ballot and the party in question fails to gain five percent of the vote for any of its statewide candidates.  2.  For a newly qualified major political party, the first election of precinct committee officers will occur at the next general election occurring in an even-numbered year.  3.  If a party is not organized pursuant chapter 29.42 RCW, but is newly qualified as a major political party, it may designate the governing body or officers who will perform the functions assigned by law to the county or state committees of a major political party.  4.  The provisions of RCW 29.45.010(4) restrict membership on a three-person election board to members of the parties whose candidates polled the greatest and the next greatest number of votes in a particular county.

At a minor political party convention under chapter 29.24 RCW persons who are not qualified electors of the county commissioner district involved may not be counted as valid signers of a certificate of nomination of the party's candidate for the office of county commissioner.

There is no state law which prohibits a political party in this state from endorsing a candidate in the primary election since such "endorsement" of a political party cannot exclude others from filing for the same office at the primary as a candidate of the same political party.