Alaska drops criminal prosecution of 11 Whittier residents for alleged noncitizen voting

By: James Brooks

Outlets: Alaska Beacon

Published: September 15, 2026

Words: 524

Last Updated: 2 days, 22 hours ago

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Following a ruling by the Alaska Court of Appeals, the Alaska Department of Law has dropped criminal charges against 11 American Samoan residents of Whittier who were accused of illegal voting.

American Samoans are U.S. nationals but not citizens and thus cannot vote in Alaska elections.

State prosecutors charged Tupe Smith and 10 other Whittier residents with voting illegally after Smith won a local school board race in 2022.

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