Stoel Rives Secures Significant Alaska Appellate Victory in Voter Misconduct Case

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (September 09, 2026) — Stoel Rives attorneys Whitney Brown, Jim Torgerson, and Jake Gerrish, in partnership with Right to Democracy, secured a significant appellate victory for client Tupe Smith when the Alaska Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling and clarified the intent required to establish first-degree voter misconduct under Alaska law. The appeal was handled on a pro bono basis. Stoel Rives partner Whitney Brown presented oral argument on Smith’s behalf.

Smith, who was born in American Samoa, was charged with first-degree voter misconduct after identifying herself as a U.S. citizen on voter registration paperwork that did not provide an option for “U.S. national.” Smith told investigators that local election officials had instructed her to check the U.S. citizen box and that she did not know she was ineligible to vote.

In its Sept. 4 opinion, the Court held that the State must prove a defendant acted with a “consciousness of wrongdoing.”  In other words, a defendant must have purposely or deliberately made a false sworn statement to face criminal liability under the voter-misconduct statute.

The Court held that the grand jury received both an incorrect instruction about the intent required under the statute and misleading testimony regarding Smith’s understanding of her voting eligibility. It concluded that those errors substantially affected the proceedings and that the grand jury likely would not have indicted Smith had it received the correct information. The Court reversed the superior court’s order denying Smith’s motion to dismiss the indictment and remanded the case for further proceedings.

“This decision establishes an important safeguard against imposing felony liability for an honest mistake,” Brown said. “The Court made clear that Alaska law requires more than simply showing that a statement was false—the State must prove a person acted with a consciousness of wrongdoing. That distinction makes a world of difference to Ms. Smith and helps ensure that Alaska’s voter-misconduct statute is applied as the legislature intended going forward.”

“This was a big win for Ms. Smith and other American Samoans being criminally targeted by the State of Alaska. Whitney Brown and the team at Stoel Rives went above and beyond to make sure that justice and common sense prevailed in this criminal appeal. No one should be facing jail time simply for being confused about what box to check on a government form, especially when public officials themselves contributed to that confusion,” said Neil Weare, Co-Director of Right to Democracy.