Disputes over voting and citizenship rights in a U.S. territory bring its colonial past to light.

Small-town Alaska meets big-time politics in Whittier, a remote, isolated settlement wedged between towering glaciers and the Prince William Sound. It’s so secluded, it’s only accessible via a one-lane tunnel shared with trains. With just 260 residents living in the same 14-story condo building, this charming town is a surprising crossroads for two major U.S. political debates: the definition of citizenship and allegations of noncitizen voter fraud.

In an unusual move, Alaska prosecutors have charged 11 Whittier residents, mostly family members, with falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to vote. Hailing from American Samoa, a US territory in the South Pacific, they were born citizens by birth in U.S. soil, yet denied that status by a historical quirk. Although they have a U.S. passport, serve in the military, and register for the Selective Service, they are not considered U.S. citizens, but rather U.S. nationals. This distinction opposes their automatic rights and obligations, such as voting or holding public offices.

Many American Samoans aspire to obtain U.S. citizenship, a costly and complicated process, but Michael Pese, one of the defendants, passionately argues, "I'm an American. I was born an American on U.S. soil."

A Nationwide Problem

These questionable voting rights also echo in other states. In Oregon, officials mistakenly registered nearly 200 American Samoan residents to vote due to confusion surrounding their status. Despite 10 of them casting ballots, officials found no evidence of any intent to deceive or violate the law. Meanwhile, in Hawaii, Sai Timoteo, born in American Samoa, contested for a state legislature seat without realizing she wouldn't be eligible to hold public office or vote—a fundamental understanding she had held her entire life.

U.S. Citizenship: A Born Right?

A storm of executive orders by President Trump ignited debates about the very essence of birthright citizenship. Initiatives such as restricting birthright citizenship for immigrant children and altering federal elections were met with legal challenges. Apparently, the Constitution affirms that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”

The drama in Whittier started with Tupe Smith, a devoted community worker in Whittier Community School, where nearly half the students are American Samoan. In 2023, she ran for a regional school board seat and won overwhelmingly. However, her victory was short-lived. State troopers, investigating voting irregularities, arrested her for alleged intentional false induction of citizenship. She was released on bail after her husband paid the fee.

Ten months later, troopers served court summons to Pese, eight other relatives, and one man from the same American Samoa village. Neil Weare, one of Smith's attorneys and an ex-resident of another U.S. territory, questioned the prosecutions as "low-hanging fruit” given the supposed scarcity of evidence supporting widespread noncitizen voter fraud.

The unique predicament of American Samoans stems from the 19th century, with the U.S. and other powers striving for colonial dominance in the South Pacific. The U.S. solidified control over the island cluster's fuel resources, while Germany sought to protect its coconut plantations. The archipelago was eventually divided, with Western islands becoming an independent nation of Samoa, and the Eastern islands becoming American Samoa, overseen by the Navy.

American Samoans spent decades arguing that they should be U.S. citizens, but the debate shifted over concerns about policy changes that might compromise the territory’s customs, such as privatizing communal lands. Legal challenges and widespread misunderstanding still persist, with American Samoans unknowingly registering to vote or holding public offices that they are somehow entitled to but can't hold under U.S. law.

The case in Whittier has raised questions about the intent of those involved, as Smith insisted she would check the "U.S. citizen" box at the encouragement of elections officials, as there was no other option. Prosecutors countered that the clear language on the voter application forms filled out by Smith contradicts her stance.

The fight for birthright citizenship in American Samoa continues to tug at the threads of the U.S. legal system.

Thiessen, Bohrer, and Johnson write for the Associated Press. Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska, and Johnson from Seattle. Claire Rush in Portland and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu contributed to this report.

Disputes over voting and citizenship rights in a U.S. territory bring its colonial past to light.