Alaska drops voter misconduct cases against 11 American Samoans

September 13, 2026 at 10:28 PM2 min

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Alaska prosecutors dropped voter misconduct cases against 11 residents born in American Samoa after a state appeals court threw out felony charges against Tupe Smith. The court ruled that state law requires proof of intent to break the law, not just a false statement on a voter registration form. The decision ends a prosecution that began after Smith won a regional school board seat in 2023.

Key Facts

The Alaska Department of Law announced the dismissal on Friday, September 11, 2026.
A three-judge Court of Appeals panel ruled a week earlier that prosecutors must prove a defendant had a 'consciousness of wrongdoing' and intended to break the law.
The appeals court found flaws in a state trooper's questioning of Tupe Smith and in the grand jury process that led to her indictment.
All 11 defendants were from Whittier, a town about 50 miles southeast of Anchorage.
American Samoa is the only U.S. territory where residents are not automatically granted citizenship by birth and are instead U.S. nationals.

The Dismissal

Acting Alaska Attorney General Cori Mills said prosecutors concluded they could not prove the cases against Smith and the others beyond a reasonable doubt after reviewing the appeals court decision. Mills stated the department respects the role of the courts in interpreting Alaska law and will carefully evaluate prosecutorial decisions. Smith's lawyer, Whitney Brown, said the dismissal would allow the community to put the ordeal behind them and begin moving forward. Brown had earlier called the appeals court ruling an important safeguard against imposing felony liability for an honest mistake.

The Appeals Court Ruling

The three-judge panel overturned a lower court decision that had kept the charges against Smith alive. The court found that Alaska law requires more than showing a statement was false; the state must prove a person acted with a consciousness of wrongdoing. The ruling also identified problems with how a state trooper questioned Smith and how the grand jury reached its indictment. Smith was arrested after winning election to a regional school board in 2023 and has said she relied on erroneous information from election officials in Whittier.

American Samoan Citizenship Status

American Samoa is the only U.S. territory where residents are not automatically granted citizenship by being born on American soil and instead are considered U.S. nationals. Paths to citizenship exist, such as naturalization, though the process can be expensive and cumbersome. American Samoans can serve in the military, obtain U.S. passports, and vote in elections in American Samoa, but they cannot hold public office in the U.S. or participate in most U.S. elections.