Alaska Drops Voter Charges for American Samoans | Charlotte News

Alaska prosecutors are dropping felony voter misconduct charges against several American Samoan residents after an appeals court ruled that proving intentional wrongdoing is essential — not just honest mistakes on forms. The court found critical flaws in how evidence was gathered, especially in questioning Tupe Smith, whose native language isn’t English, and noted she was misled by local officials who told her it was acceptable to mark herself as a citizen when no “national” option existed. This landmark decision reinforces that prosecutors must prove “consciousness of wrongdoing” for such charges, a standard the state now admits it can’t meet in these cases — impacting U.S. nationals who aren’t born citizens and may have made unintentional errors while voting. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/b9de72de1c99c5f0