May a judicial candidate personally ask individual voters to sign a petition to place her name on the ballot?

Short answer The Committee said individual requests for ballot-petition signatures did not amount to the public support solicitation barred by Canon 5C2; it distinguished requests to a group.

Bar

JUDICIAL-AR

Issued

February 21, 2002

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 2002. Ask about yours and see what the current rules of professional conduct in your state say for your facts, with citations.

Disclaimer: Advisory only. Not binding precedent.

About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official ethics opinion. The original opinion (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

An announced circuit-judge candidate planned to qualify for the ballot by petition and asked whether she could personally ask registered voters for signatures. The Committee distinguished individual approaches from solicitation of a group or gathering.

It concluded that asking people one by one to sign did not constitute solicitation of publicly stated support under then-current Canon 5C2. Its response did not extend that conclusion to a social gathering, assembly, club, or other group.

Common questions

Q: Could the candidate personally ask one voter at a time?

A: Yes. The Committee said an individual request for a petition signature was not solicitation of publicly stated support.

Q: Did it give the same answer for asking a group?

A: No. It made the individual rather than group approach the key to its answer.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interpreted then-current Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct Canon 5C2, which restricted personal solicitation of contributions and publicly stated support. It also referred the candidate to earlier Advisory Opinion 95-04.

Citations and references

Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct Canon 5C2.
Arkansas JEAC Advisory Opinion 95-04.

Source

Landing page: https://jddc.arkansas.gov/opinions/opinion-no-02-02/

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

February 21, 2002

Carla D. Fuller, Esq.

Attorney at Law

P. O. Box 1664

Searcy, Arkansas 72145

RE: Advisory Opinion # 2002-02

Dear Ms. Fuller:

You stated in your request for an Advisory Opinion dated January 15, 2002 that you were an announced candidate for Circuit Judge. You stated that "Pursuant to Act 1789" of an undisclosed year [which we interpret to be Arkansas Code Annotated 7-10-103(c)-Alternative Ballot Access] you would achieve having your name placed on the ballot by petition of registered voters. You asked, "whether it would violate Canon 5 of the Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct for me to personally solicit signatures for this petition."

Canon 5C2 states: "(2) A candidate shall not personally solicit or accept campaign contributions or personally solicit publicly stated support. Your asking persons on an individual basis and not as a group such as an social gathering, assembly, club or any other organization, whether organized formally or otherwise, to sign your petition does not constitute soliciting publicly stated support. The key is approaching people on an individual basis to ask them to sign the petition.

Reference to our Advisory Opinion No. 95-04 might be helpful to you.

Very truly yours,

Edwin Alderson

For the Committee

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