Amicus Brief: Alaska Policy Forum v. Alaska Public Offices Commission

Alaska Policy Forum (APF), a nonprofit public-policy organization, published materials (blogs/articles) criticizing ranked-choice voting before Alaska’s 2020 election, when voters were considering a ballot initiative that included ranked-choice voting. Alaska treated APF’s communications as regulated election advocacy and subjected the organization to registration, reporting, and donor-disclosure requirements; the Alaska Supreme Court ultimately upheld the state’s position. APF has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, challenging Alaska’s regulation of its issue speech and donor disclosures under the First Amendment.

ALEC’s amicus brief focuses particularly on Alaska’s two-tier disclosure regime, which can require an organization both to disclose donors through public filings and to identify its three largest donors directly on the communication itself, arguing that the system is insufficiently tailored, can misleadingly associate donors with speech they did not fund or support, and risks chilling protected speech and association.