A former Arizona state representative was sentenced Tuesday to two years of probation, fined and barred from running for public office for five years after forging signatures on his election petition.
Austin Smith, who represented part of Maricopa County from 2023 to 2025, pleaded guilty in November to fraud and illegal signing of election petitions. Smith, himself a proponent of election fraud conspiracies, was accused of forging signatures on a 2024 petition to qualify for re-election, including one of a dead woman. He withdrew his candidacy shortly after being accused of the forgery.
Smith’s attorney told the judge that Smith “realizes that things got out of hand” and said “he’s embarrassed by the lapse in judgement.” His attorney also requested leniency in financial surcharges since “his finances are not extraordinary.”
He was fined $5,500.
Smith has been a leader in local Republican circles. In 2019, conservative activist Charlie Kirk approached Smith about launching Turning Point Action, an offshoot of Turning Point USA, where he is now an enterprise director. He is also the former chairman of the Arizona chapter of the Young Republicans and remains on the organization’s advisory board.
Maricopa County became a source of widespread voter fraud conspiracy during the 2020 U.S. presidential election, when election officials were falsely accused of mishandling ballots. President Donald Trump and his allies, including Smith, claimed without evidence that the election was stolen from him there.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.