‘Shield from the Majority’ is under attack in Alaska

Since before the nation’s founding, Americans have engaged in political speech and advocacy anonymously. Anonymity helps to protect speakers from reprisals, violent or otherwise. It also removes a possible distraction from the contents of the message: the identity and reputation of the speaker.

But private and public actors alike around the country are chipping away at this essential element of speech and advocacy in America. A group is now asking the Supreme Court to hear its case against Alaska and to recognize, again, the First Amendment right to associate and to speak anonymously.