An election integrity warrior may have forged signatures to get on the ballot? Nooooo
One of the Arizona Legislature’s most ardent warriors for election integrity may have landed himself smack in a steaming pile of political poop.
It seems two voters in the West Valley’s Legislative District 29 have come forward claiming they didn’t sign petitions to put Rep. Austin Smith on the July 30 ballot.
And yet there they are, on petitions circulated by Smith himself, according to a lawsuit seeking to toss him off the ballot.
“As shown by his circulator affidavit, Smith personally circulated multiple petition sheets bearing what appear to be forged voter signatures,” according to the lawsuit filed on Monday by Democratic attorney Roy Herrera on behalf of James Ashurst, a Democrat from Goodyear.
“At least two voters whose names appear on petition sheets Smith circulated avow that they never signed the petition.”
Smith has long claimed stolen elections
The lawsuit includes sworn declarations from the two voters, Bruce A. Bell and Daniel Hernandez, declaring that they did not sign Smith’s nomination petition.
If true, that’s a stunner.
Smith, after all, is a leader in the hard right Arizona Freedom Caucus, a guy who sees a Democratic plot to steal elections under every bush. He’s also a senior official in Turning Point Action, the political advocacy arm of the hard right Turning Point USA.
What would be more conspiratorial than a supposed warrior for election integrity forging signatures on his own nominating petitions?
These races could loosen: Far-right's grip on Legislature
Smith, R-Wittman, didn’t reply to a request for comment, but Democrats certainly have thing or two to say.
“For years, Smith has helped to perpetuate false election claims and conspiracy theories,” said Sen. Priya Sundareshan, chairwoman of the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
“Now, it may prove to be true that Smith is the one undermining our election integrity by committing fraud. If that’s true, shame on him.”
If he forged signatures, it's game over
In all, the lawsuit flags roughly 100 of the 826 signatures on petitions Smith circulated, saying they “bear a striking resemblance to Smith’s.”
He needs only 527 to qualify, but if he forged signatures, it’s game over.
The lawsuit claims Smith forged the signatures and thus should be disqualified from running for office for the next five years under state law.
That would leave Republican Rep. Steve Montenegro and Democrat Tanairi Ochoa-Martinez to vie for the two House seats in this solid Republican district.
No doubt, Republicans would mount a write-in candidate in the primary to try to fill the second seat.
But if the allegations about Smith are true, it would seem the hard right just reached, well, a turning point.
Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @LaurieRoberts.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona election lawsuit: Lawmaker forged signatures to get on ballot
