A woman in Alaska is fighting charges of voter fraud that stem from an honest mistake she made on her voter registration forms. Tupe Smith was born in American Samoa and later moved to Alaska, where she won a local election to a regional school board in 2023. However, when asked about her citizenship on the ballot, Smith claimed U.S. citizen status despite not having automatic citizenship simply by being born in the territory.
According to court filings, Smith had mistakenly relied on information provided by local election officials that led her to mark herself as a U.S. citizen on voter registration forms. When faced with an option for "U.S. national" on the form, she was told by city representatives it was acceptable to check "U.S. citizen." She has maintained that this is what she believed she should have done, not realizing there was no such option available.
Prosecutors claim Smith knowingly and falsely swore she was a U.S. citizen, despite knowing she couldn't vote in presidential elections. The issue here isn't her ability to vote in local elections – which she believes she had the right to do based on advice from election officials – but rather whether she intentionally and deliberately misrepresented herself as a U.S. citizen.
The case has raised questions about the complexities of citizenship for people born in American Samoa, who are considered U.S. nationals but don't automatically receive U.S. citizenship upon birth. Smith is not alone; 11 other individuals from American Samoa have been charged with similar voter fraud in Alaska.
If the court upholds her indictment, it could create a precedent where felony charges of voter fraud are issued at a low threshold in Alaska – making it "the only state to our knowledge" with such a lenient standard.
According to court filings, Smith had mistakenly relied on information provided by local election officials that led her to mark herself as a U.S. citizen on voter registration forms. When faced with an option for "U.S. national" on the form, she was told by city representatives it was acceptable to check "U.S. citizen." She has maintained that this is what she believed she should have done, not realizing there was no such option available.
Prosecutors claim Smith knowingly and falsely swore she was a U.S. citizen, despite knowing she couldn't vote in presidential elections. The issue here isn't her ability to vote in local elections – which she believes she had the right to do based on advice from election officials – but rather whether she intentionally and deliberately misrepresented herself as a U.S. citizen.
The case has raised questions about the complexities of citizenship for people born in American Samoa, who are considered U.S. nationals but don't automatically receive U.S. citizenship upon birth. Smith is not alone; 11 other individuals from American Samoa have been charged with similar voter fraud in Alaska.
If the court upholds her indictment, it could create a precedent where felony charges of voter fraud are issued at a low threshold in Alaska – making it "the only state to our knowledge" with such a lenient standard.
this case is just wild 
i mean tupe smith was just trying to do the right thing and got caught up in some bureaucracy 
and honestly who hasn't made a mistake like that at some point? 
it's not like she intentionally tried to deceive anyone, but yeah prosecutors are making it sound like she knowingly lied about her citizenship status 
it feels like we're getting caught up in some technicality here 
and 11 other people from american samoa are already facing charges? 
that's not exactly what i'd call justice 
- tupe smith didn't even think she was breaking the law, she thought she was filling out her forms correctly 
. This case has the potential to set a precedent, and we need to consider how that might affect our voting systems and policies in general 
.
. I don't think the punishment should fit the crime, you know? 
.
this is crazy! I feel so bad for Tupe Smith - she's not trying to scam anyone, she was just misinformed 
. The fact that 11 other people from American Samoa have been charged too is just ridiculous 
, it's like they're being targeted for some reason? 
... let's hope that doesn't happen! 
. This whole situation with Tupe Smith just got me thinking... she wasn't trying to cheat or deceive anyone, it was just a misunderstanding. The local election officials should've been clearer in their explanation, not led her down the wrong path 
.
I feel so bad for Tupe Smith 
she's just trying to do the right thing and gets caught up in a huge mess 
? It's like, what even is the difference between those two options? 
. It's hard enough for people born there to navigate their own citizenship status, let alone figure out what "U.S. national" means 
. This whole situation feels like it's just a big mess 
and Tupe Smith is just getting caught up in the middle of it 
.