On January 15, the Alaska State Appeals Court will hear Tupe Smith v State of Alaska, A-14529. This is the lawsuit over the prosecution of some persons born in American Samoa, who now live in Alaska. They are being prosecuted for registering to vote. The lead defendant, Tupe Smith, was elected to the School Board in Whittier, Alaska. yet she is being threatened with ten years in prison. Persons born in American Samoa are “U.S. Nationals”, not U.S. citizens.
Here is her brief. Her defense is that she lacked intent to break any law. Election-related forms in Alaska, as in other states, don’t have a checkbox category for “U.S. Nationals”.
How hard is it for Samoans resident in the US to become citizens?
A.S. — VESTIGE OF OLDE 1900 USA IMPERIALISM —
NOW RE-HATCHED WIITH TYRANT TRUMP
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Samoa
It’s just as hard as it is for anyone not born in the U.S. to become a citizen. It’s the same process.
American Samoa isn’t wholly in the US. You need a passport to go there unlike Puerto Rico
My personal experience tells me that no passport is needed for a U.S. resident to go to American Samoa. In 1992 I was in Hawaii and I decided impulsively to fly to American Samoa and see it. I did not have a passport with me and nothing was said about the need to show a passport.
https://www.usa.gov/visit-territories
YES — PASSPORT TO AS – UNCLEAR WHEN STARTED
I believe the Constitution says that you’re a citizen of the state in which you reside.
Where?