AAPOR Submits Brief to Protect First Amendment Rights and the Future of Public Opinion Research
04/29/2026
On April 21, the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) submitted an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in the case of DENNIS DONNELLY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. DES MOINES REGISTER AND TRIBUNE CO., INC., et al.
The case centers on whether pollsters can be held legally liable when survey results differ from election outcomes. The brief reinforces the critical importance of protecting public opinion research as protected speech under the First Amendment.
“This case has wide-ranging implications—not only for election polling, but for all survey and public opinion research,” says Mary Losch, AAPOR Vice President/President Elect. “If allowed to stand, a ruling against First Amendment protections for election polling would have a chilling effect on future polling and, by extension, any survey work that could be perceived as not aligned with a particular set of findings or views.”
Opinion research is one of the few independent ways to measure the views of the public and plays a central role in informing democratic discourse. The brief underscores that limiting these protections would not improve polling but would reduce it. Researchers—particularly those in academic institutions, nonprofits, and smaller organizations—would face increased legal risk and may be forced to avoid publishing findings or could leave the field altogether.
The consequences extend beyond election polling. Exposure to litigation tied to the inherent uncertainty of survey research would create a chilling effect across the industry, discouraging transparency, reducing methodological diversity, and narrowing the range of publicly available data. Over time, this would leave policymakers, researchers, and the public with a less accurate and less complete understanding of societal attitudes and behaviors.
“If polling and survey organizations have to fear litigation, this would be a significant barrier to conducting and releasing information to the public and, moreover, would damage the public’s ability to understand fundamental issues central to the healthy functioning of a democratic society,” Losch says.
By urging the court to affirm dismissal, AAPOR is working to protect the independence, transparency, and scientific foundation of public opinion research. As the brief makes clear: Protecting polling is essential to protecting democracy.
AAPOR extends its sincere appreciation to members Mary Losch, Jordon Peugh, Josh Pasek, and Andrew Mercer, as well as AAPOR Counsel Stuart Pardau (Law Offices of Stuart L. Pardau), for their leadership in developing and reviewing the brief. Special thanks to Caesar Kalinowski IV, Shontee Pant, and Nicole Saad Bembridge of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP for generously donating their time and expertise to draft and submit the brief.
For more information, visit the AAPOR 2026 Amicus Brief Overview page.