Bolts, High Country News
Americans by Name, Punished for Believing It
American Samoans are American by birth, but still denied the full rights and privileges of citizenship — a status Bolts and High Country News explored in coverage one judge praised as “superb journalism.”
As U.S. nationals, American Samoans pay taxes, owe “allegiance” by law to the United States, and can join or be drafted into the military, the news outlets reported. They also are residents of the only U.S. state or territory where people are born without automatic citizenship, and without the right to vote in state, federal, and most local elections anywhere outside of the island.
The investigation follows American Samoan residents in Whittier, Alaska, who face felony charges for voting despite believing they were eligible.
The piece “brings the reader directly into this family’s life and the devastating effects of these policies,” a judge wrote.
Read the Winning Work
Americans by Name, Punished for Believing It Jan. 8, 2026
Finalists
Grist, WBEZ, and Inside Climate News
Chicago’s Lead Crisis
Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, Keerti Gopal, Peter Aldhous, Clayton Aldern, Amy Qin