Alaska Drops 11 Voter Cases Against American Samoans After Court Ruling

Alaska prosecutors are dropping voter-misconduct cases against residents of Whittier who were born in American Samoa after the state Court of Appeals overturned felony charges against Tupe Smith. The court ruled that prosecutors must prove defendants knowingly acted wrongfully and intended to violate the law, not merely that they inaccurately marked a voter-registration form. It found flaws in the grand-jury proceedings and in a state trooper’s characterization of Smith’s interview, during which she said officials told her to select the citizenship box because the form lacked an option for U.S. nationals. American Samoans are generally U.S. nationals rather than citizens and cannot vote in Alaska elections unless they obtain citizenship. Acting Attorney General Cori Mills said prosecutors could not prove the remaining cases beyond a reasonable doubt, while Smith’s attorneys called the ruling an important safeguard against treating an honest mistake as a felony.