I missed this news yesterday:

More than 14 years after the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which removed limits on independent political expenditures by corporations and unions, the justices declined to weigh in on a challenge to the constitutionality of two campaign-finance laws enacted by Alaska voters in 2020.

The laws were put in place to target the role of “dark money” – money spent to influence elections, but without the public knowing the source of the funds. One regulation requires anyone who gives more than $2,000 in a calendar year to groups that spend money to influence the elections of candidates to report the donation within 24 hours. A second regulation requires election ads to disclose when a majority of the donations that fund it come from outside Alaska.

Five voters and two groups that spend money on elections went to federal court in Alaska, arguing that the regulations violate the First Amendment. A federal district judge rejected their request to block the regulations before the 2022 elections, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld that decision.

The challengers came to the Supreme Court this summer, asking the justices to take up their case. They contended that the regulations are an “outlier among all state and federal campaign finance rules” that place “unprecedented burdens on citizens’ right to speak about matters of public concern.” But after considering the appeal at five consecutive conferences, the justices ultimately denied review on Monday without comment.