Alaska prosecutors have dropped voter misconduct cases against a group of residents born in American Samoa after a state appeals court overturned felony charges against one woman who had mistakenly checked a box identifying her as a U.S. citizen on voter registration forms.
The state's Department of Law announced the decision Friday, following a ruling by a three-judge Court of Appeals panel that determined state law necessitates proof that defendants who incorrectly completed voter registration forms did so with a "consciousness of wrongdoing" and an intent to violate the law.
The appeals court identified deficiencies in a state trooper's questioning of Tupe Smith, the individual whose case led to the dismissal of charges, and in the grand jury proceedings that resulted in her indictment. The court reversed a lower court's decision that had allowed the charges against her to proceed.
Acting Alaska Attorney General Cori Mills stated that after reviewing the appeals court's decision and applying the facts, prosecutors concluded they could not prove the cases against Smith and others beyond a reasonable doubt. Smith's husband, Michael Pese, had also faced charges.
"We respect the role of the courts in interpreting Alaska law and will faithfully execute our duty to apply the law and carefully evaluate our prosecutorial decisions," Mills said.
Smith's attorney, Whitney Brown, characterized the appeals court decision as establishing "an important safeguard against imposing felony liability for an honest mistake." She added that the court clarified that the state must demonstrate a person acted with a consciousness of wrongdoing, not merely that a statement was false.
Neil Weare, part of the legal team representing Smith and Pese, questioned the justification for the prosecution. "It’s clear that all along, they really had no evidence of any consciousness of wrongdoing on the part of Michael, Tupe or the other defendants," said Weare, co-director of the nonprofit Right to Democracy Project.
In total, 11 individuals from Whittier, a community southeast of Anchorage, were charged with falsely claiming U.S. citizenship when registering to vote or attempting to vote. Whittier is approximately 50 miles from Anchorage.
Residents of American Samoa are U.S. nationals by birth, not automatically U.S. citizens, distinguishing it from other U.S. territories. Pathways to citizenship exist, but the naturalization process can be costly and complex.
While American Samoans can hold U.S. passports and vote in territorial elections, they cannot hold federal office or vote in most U.S. elections. They are, however, permitted to serve in the U.S. military.
Smith's case gained attention after she won election to a regional school board in 2023. She maintained that she relied on incorrect information from local election officials in Whittier when she marked herself as a U.S. citizen on her voter registration forms. Smith stated that she typically identifies as a U.S. national on official documents, but when a "U.S. national" option was absent on the voter registration forms, city representatives allegedly advised her that marking "U.S. citizen" was appropriate.
Prosecutors had argued that Smith knowingly and intentionally misrepresented her citizenship status, citing warnings on the 2020 and 2022 voter registration forms she completed, which stated that noncitizens were ineligible to vote.
The Court of Appeals panel noted that toward the end of a police interview, a state trooper posed a complex, multi-part question to Smith, which the panel suggested implied she was aware of her ineligibility to vote but still sought to participate in the school board election. Smith, for whom English is not a native language, reportedly hesitated before responding, prompting further questioning.
Smith's arrest and indictment on two felony voter misconduct charges followed this exchange.