A state appeals court in Alaska heard arguments Thursday in the case of Tupe Smith, who faces felony voter misconduct charges after an arrest that followed her election to a regional school board in 2023. The Alaska Court of Appeals is now expected to decide whether the charges against Smith should stand, dismiss, or be sent back for further proceedings.
Smith’s attorneys told the court that she made an innocent mistake driven by how voting and registration information is handled locally in Whittier. In their account, Smith relied on information from local election officials when she identified herself as a U.S. citizen on voter registration paperwork, even though American Samoa-born residents are generally U.S. nationals under the territory’s citizenship framework.
American Samoa’s status creates a distinct pathway from citizenship rules in other parts of the United States. The territory is described in the reporting as the only U.S. jurisdiction where residents are not automatically granted citizenship by being born on American soil, and instead are treated as U.S. nationals. The case has therefore drawn attention to the compliance challenges that can arise when voting eligibility and documentation requirements are applied across jurisdictions with different legal categories.
The court hearing focused on what prosecutors must prove about intent. Smith’s supporters and current defense attorneys argued that the relevant statutory standard should not capture people who lack intent to mislead or deceive, while the state pushed the argument that the statute requires accuracy in the oaths or statements relied on for election integrity.
Defense attorney Whitney Brown told the appeals court that “Smith and others like her who get caught up in Alaska’s confusing election administration system and do not have any intent to mislead or deceive should not face felony voter misconduct charges.” In the state’s response, assistant attorney general Kayla Doyle argued that election integrity depends on ensuring that relied-upon oaths are accurate.
Outside the Anchorage courthouse, about 25 people gathered on a snowy street to support Smith. Some carried signs reading, “We support Samoans,” and a state senator who attended the rally, Forrest Dunbar, said the Alaska Department of Law has limited resources and that the state should focus on people he characterized as genuine criminals with intent to deceive.
According to court filings referenced in the reporting, Smith’s prior attorney said that when Smith answered questions from an Alaska state trooper after her arrest, she indicated she knew she could not vote in presidential elections, but did not believe she faced other limits on her ability to vote. The filing also says Smith marked herself as a U.S. national on paperwork but that when there was no national option on the voter registration forms, she was told by city representatives it was appropriate to mark U.S. citizen.
The defense’s argument in a September filing, as described in the reporting, says Smith exercised what she believed was her right to vote in a local election without any intent to mislead or deceive. The filing language says her belief that U.S. nationals may vote in local elections was supported by advice from Whittier election officials and was simply mistaken.
Prosecutors, however, argued that Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship. The state’s position, as laid out in filings cited in the reporting, pointed to language on voter application forms Smith filled out in 2020 and 2022, which instructed that if the applicant was not at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen, “do not complete this form, as you are not eligible to vote.” In a filing, Doyle also argued that the counts Smith was indicted on were about whether Smith intentionally and falsely swore she was a U.S. citizen, rather than about her belief regarding which elections she could vote in.
The state’s legal challenge comes as prosecutors separately have brought charges against 10 other people from American Samoa in Whittier, including Smith’s husband, Michael Pese. Thursday’s appeals arguments thus sat alongside a broader set of prosecutions that has continued to spotlight the interplay between American Samoa’s U.S.-national status and voter eligibility requirements in Alaska.
Smith’s co-counsel, Neil Weare, has said in comments reported in connection with the case that the appeals court could dismiss the case or send it back for the lower court to consider whether the state can meet the standard it set for voter misconduct. The court did not provide a timeline for when it would issue its ruling.