It's not clear yet whether the 24,199 pages being released will contain any major revelations. They will cover the period from the time she took office in December 2006 to her ascension to vice presidential nominee in September 2008. Requests have been made for e-mails from her final 10 months in office. The state hasn't begun the process of reviewing those yet. Palin resigned partway through her term, in July 2009.
Some e-mails may have been previously reviewed in other, earlier public records requests, such as in the Troopergate investigation, in which Palin was accused of putting pressure on public safety officials to fire her brother-in-law, an Alaska State Trooper who was going through a bitter divorce from Palin's sister.
Clive Thomas, a long-time Palin observer who's writing a book on Alaska politics, said he's not sure what the e-mails will contain — or whether their contents will affect people's perceptions of Palin.
"I guess most people, I think, who don't like Sarah Palin are hoping there's something in there that will deliver the final sort of blow to her (politically)," he said. As for Palin's supporters, he said he doesn't think their opinion of her will be changed regardless of what comes out.