Alaska prosecutors have dropped voter misconduct charges against a group of residents born in American Samoa after an appeals court ruled that the state’s legal standards were not met in their cases. The decision followed a ruling by Alaska’s Court of Appeals, which overturned felony charges against Tupe Smith, a woman who mistakenly claimed U.S. citizenship on voter registration forms. The court found that Alaska law requires prosecutors to prove that individuals who made errors on their forms had a “consciousness of wrongdoing” and intentionally broke the law. This standard was not met in Smith’s case, according to the appeals court. The court identified issues with the questioning of Smith by a state trooper and with the grand jury process that led to her indictment. The panel also overturned a lower court’s decision that had upheld the charges against her. Acting Alaska Attorney General Cori Mills said that after reviewing the 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 been charged, but the charges against him were also dropped. Mills noted that the department respects the courts’ role in interpreting Alaska law and will continue to carefully evaluate prosecutorial decisions. Smith’s attorney, Whitney Brown, welcomed the decision, saying it “establishes an important safeguard against imposing felony liability for an honest mistake.” She added that the court emphasized that Alaska law requires more than simply showing that a statement was false — the state must prove that a person acted with a consciousness of wrongdoing. In total, 11 people from the community of Whittier, about 50 miles southeast of Anchorage, were charged with falsely claiming U.S. citizenship when registering or trying to vote. Their lawyers were contacted for comment, but no responses were received. American Samoa is a U.S. territory where people born there are not automatically granted U.S. citizenship and are instead considered U.S. nationals. While they can obtain U.S. passports, serve in the military, and vote in American Samoa elections, they cannot vote in most U.S. elections or hold public office in the mainland United States. Smith was arrested after winning election to a regional school board in 2023. She said she relied on incorrect information from Whittier election officials when she marked herself as a U.S. citizen on voter registration forms. According to court documents, she indicated she was a U.S. national on other paperwork, but when that option was not available on the voter registration forms, she was told by city representatives it was acceptable to mark herself as a citizen. Prosecutors had argued that Smith deliberately claimed U.S. citizenship, citing warnings on the forms she filled out in 2020 and 2022 that noncitizens are not eligible to vote.