# The voters who were never citizens

> Alaska charged 11 people with faking citizenship to vote. A court ruling just collapsed the whole case.
- Title: The voters who were never citizens · Fortune | Shortify
- Summary: Alaska charged 11 people with faking citizenship to vote. A court ruling just collapsed the whole case. American Samoans are U.S. nationals, not citizens…
- Keywords: american samoa, citizenship, voting rights, alaska, courts, voters, never, citizens, Fortune
- Source: Fortune — https://fortune.com/2026/09/13/american-samoa-us-territory-birthright-citizenship-nationals-voting-alaska
- Author: The Associated Press
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: american samoa, citizenship, voting rights, alaska, courts
## Alaska drops the charges
State prosecutors abandoned voter misconduct cases against a group of residents born in American Samoa, a week after an appeals court threw out the lead case.
## Honest mistake is not a crime
A three-judge panel ruled Alaska law demands proof of a "consciousness of wrongdoing." A false box on a form, by itself, is not enough to convict.

> the State must prove a person acted with a consciousness of wrongdoing
## Eleven people in Whittier
All were from one small community about 50 miles southeast of Anchorage, charged with falsely claiming U.S. citizenship when registering or trying to vote.
## Nationals, not citizens
American Samoa is the only U.S. territory where birth on the soil does not grant citizenship. Naturalization is possible but expensive and slow.
## Serve, yes. Vote, no
American Samoans can join the military and carry U.S. passports, but they cannot hold public office on the mainland or vote in most U.S. elections.
## The form had no box
Tupe Smith marks herself a U.S. national on paperwork. Voter registration offered no such option, and Whittier city officials told her to tick citizen instead.
## Four questions, one yes
A trooper put a long compound question to Smith, whose first language is not English. Her single "Yes" became two felony counts, and now nothing at all.

> raises questions about why this prosecution was even brought to begin with
## Key takeaway

American Samoans are U.S. nationals, not citizens, and a voter form with no box for that turned an honest mistake into felony charges.