US EditionFormer Republican lawmaker in Arizona pleads guilty to charges for forging petition signatures
Austin Smith admitted to forging signatures and faces probation, a $5,000 fine, and a five-year ban from public office, ending his 2024 reelection campaign.
- Austin Smith, 30, a former Arizona state representative, pleaded guilty to attempting fraudulent schemes and illegally signing election petitions for his 2024 campaign.
- Smith was fined $5,000, placed on probation, and barred from running for public office for 5 years as part of his plea agreement.
- Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said Smith eroded trust in elections by forging signatures and the office will hold accountable anyone who tries to mislead Arizona voters.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Former AZ Rep Austin Smith to Be Sentenced for Petition Forgery
Former Arizona State Representative Austin Smith, a Republican who represented Legislative District 29 from 2023 to 2025 and a former senior director at Turning Point Action, is scheduled to be sentenced on January 6, 2026, after pleading guilty to charges related to forging signatures on his 2024 reelection nomination petitions. A Maricopa County grand jury indicted Smith in June 2025 on fourteen charges, four felonies and ten misdemeanors, rel…
Self-Proclaimed “Election Integrity” Crusader Austin Smith Guilty of Petition Fraud
A self-proclaimed "election integrity crusader," Austin Cole Smith, entered two guilty pleas in Maricopa County Superior Court this morning as a part of an agreement to resolve the felony case announced earlier this year. The 30-year-old Smith, a former Arizona State Representative for District 29 from 2023-2025, was indicted by the State Grand Jury in June,...
Turning Point leader, former GOP Rep pleads guilty to attempted election fraud
Austin Smith on July 31, 2023. Photo by Gage Skidmore | Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0Former Republican state legislator Austin Smith pleaded guilty Monday to what he previously called “ludicrous” charges that he personally forged more than 100 signatures on his petitions for reelection last year. The Republican from Surprise was a member of the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus, which has a history of spreading false claims of election fraud in the 2020 p…
Associated Press News
Former Republican lawmaker in Arizona pleads guilty to charges for forging petition signatures
A former Republican lawmaker in Arizona pleaded guilty to criminal charges for forging signatures on nominating petitions during his 2024 campaign.
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