Alaska Drops Voter Misconduct Cases Against American Samoans

Alaska prosecutors drop voter misconduct cases against American Samoans after court ruling. Key details on citizenship and voting rights.

Editorial Desk

September 13, 2026 One Min Read

POLICY WIRE — Anchorage, Alaska — Alaska prosecutors have dropped voter misconduct cases against a group of American Samoans after a state appeals court ruled that the charges could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The decision came after a three-judge Court of Appeals panel overturned felony charges against Tupe Smith, an American Samoan resident who mistakenly checked the ‘U.S. citizen’ box on her voter registration forms. The court found that the state had failed to prove she knowingly violated the law.

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Acting Alaska Attorney General Cori Mills stated that the prosecution could not meet the legal standard for proving the cases. Smith and her husband, Michael Pese, were among 11 individuals from Whittier, Alaska, charged with falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on voter forms. The case has raised questions about the application of Alaska’s voter-misconduct statute.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)

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