Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Alaska Policy Forum v. Alaska Public Offices Commission, et al.
Paid petition · Supreme Court of Alaska, No. S-18533 · judgment February 13, 2026
(petition-stage, structural)
Well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Questions presented
Alaska Policy Forum, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, engages in policy debates but does not advocate for the election or defeat of any measure or candidate. Alaska’s Supreme Court nonetheless upheld the state’s demand that the Forum disclose its donors, register with the state’s campaign finance authority, and add state-mandated language to its speech, because the group took a position on a public issue, and continued expressing its policy positions even after the issue became a subject of a ballot measure. The questions presented are:
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Whether the government has an informational interest in donor disclosure that defeats First Amendment associational interests, when a speaker engages in issue speech relevant to an election but does not discuss the election;
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Whether Alaska’s test for distinguishing issue speech from express advocacy is unconstitutionally vague; and
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Whether requiring that speakers disclose their donors on the face of their communications advances a compelling or sufficiently important interest.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Owen Dennis Yeates
Institute for Free Speech
For respondent
Heidi Karin Abegg
Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP
Case
Subject area
First Amendment (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Amicus briefs
16 cert-stage
Linked docket
25A1031
Proceedings
- Sep 30 2026Brief amicus curiae of Nonprofit Alliance Foundation filed.
- Sep 30 2026Brief amici curiae of Protect the First Foundation, et al. filed.
- Sep 30 2026Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed.
- Sep 30 2026Brief amicus curiae of Mountain States Legal Foundation filed.
- Sep 17 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 30, 2026, for all respondents.
- Sep 16 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response from September 30, 2026 to November 30, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
- Aug 31 2026Response Requested. (Due September 30, 2026)
- Aug 26 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/28/2026.
- Aug 21 2026Waiver of right of respondent Protect My Ballot to respond filed.
- Aug 20 2026Brief amici curiae of Upper Midwest Law Center, et al. filed.
- Aug 20 2026Brief amici curiae of People United for Privacy Foundation, et al. filed.
- Aug 20 2026Brief amici curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. filed.
- Aug 20 2026Brief amici curiae of America's Future, et al. filed.
- Aug 20 2026Brief amicus curiae of American Legislative Exchange Council filed.
- Aug 20 2026Brief amici curiae of Thomas More Law Center, et al. filed.
- Aug 20 2026Brief amici curiae of Advancing American Freedom, et al. filed.
- Aug 20 2026Brief amicus curiae of Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression filed.
- Aug 20 2026Brief amici curiae of American Center for Law and Justice, et al. filed.
- Aug 20 2026Brief amici curiae of Republican Governors Association, et al. filed.
- Aug 14 2026Brief amicus curiae of Honest Elections Project filed.
- Aug 12 2026Waiver of right of respondent Yes on 2 for Better Elections to respond filed.
- Aug 11 2026Waiver of right of respondent Alaska Public Offices Commission to respond filed.
- Aug 07 2026Brief amicus curiae of Randy Elf filed.
- Jul 13 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 20, 2026)
- Mar 23 2026Application (25A1031) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until July 13, 2026.
- Mar 17 2026Application (25A1031) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from May 14, 2026 to July 13, 2026, submitted to Justice Kagan.