#austin smith

[my-midlife-crisis]

Former AZ Rep. Smith to be sentenced for forging signatures

Austin Smith, 30, pleaded guilty in November 2025 to charges of attempted fraudulent schemes and practices, and illegal signing of election

[saywhat-politics]

Arizona ex-lawmaker, former Turning Point leader gets probation for signature fraud

Former Arizona GOP lawmaker Austin Smith was sentenced to probation Tuesday for forging petition signatures to get himself reelected.

In 2024, Smith was pressured to drop his reelection bid when he was hit with a lawsuit accusing him of forging pages of signatures on a petition to get him on the ballot for reelection to the state Legislature.

Smith pleaded guilty in November to reduced charges of attempted fraud and illegal signing of election petitions. Along with probation, he must also pay a fine and is prohibited from running for office for five years.

Smith was the “senior director” of Turning Point USA’s political arm when he was first indicted. He’s now listed as a “senior enterprise director” for the group.

Arizona ex-lawmaker, former Turning Point leader gets probation for signature fraud

Austin Smith, 30, pleaded guilty in mid-November to charges of attempted fraudulent schemes and practices, and illegal signing of election p

[us-politics]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/us/austin-smith-forgery-turning-point-arizona.html

[jadelemonadee]

hi umm umm umm umm hamilton ensemble shipping chart don’t kill me for this please!!! 😭😭😭☝️ these are only about the ensemble characters not their actors

[muddypolitics]

(via Ex-Arizona GOP lawmaker pleads guilty to attempted election fraud)

(At the time he was indicted, Smith was strategic director of Turning Point Action, Turning Point USA’s advocacy arm.)

Former 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 presidential election and pushed for election law changes in the state legislature.

“As a part of his guilty plea today, Smith admitted signing the name of a deceased woman on one of his candidate nomination petitions in March of 2024,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement. “He also admitted that he attempted to deceive the Secretary of State’s Office by knowingly filing petitions containing forged signatures of purported supporters of his nomination for the Republican primary for State Representative from LD 29.”

These Turning Point USA guys really hate democracy...

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Right-wing cable news forgot about their voter fraud fixation after a right-wing candidate was accused of forging signatures

Audrey McCabe at MMFA:

Turning Point Action senior director and Arizona state Rep. Austin Smith was named last week in a complaint alleging that he forged dozens of signatures, names, and addresses on his petitions to qualify for the state’s GOP primary ballot in July, quickly sparking a scandal that led the candidate to drop out of the race and resign from his position at TP Action just days later. Yet, for all of right-wing media’s handwringing about voter fraud in recent election cycles, a Media Matters analysis found no mentions of those allegations between April 15-23 on Fox News, One America News, and Newsmax — conservative cable outlets that have repeatedly peddled and fixated on debunked instances of supposed voter fraud.

An Arizona state representative and Turning Point Action official has been accused of forging signatures on a ballot qualification petition

According to an April 15 complaint filed by one of Smith’s constituents in state Superior Court, the first-term lawmaker “personally circulated multiple petition sheets bearing what appear to be forged voter signatures” in handwriting that bore a “striking resemblance” to his own. Additionally, several purported signers provided declarations claiming that they never signed Smith’s petitions. 

In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on April 18, Smith refuted the allegations and announced that he would withdraw his candidacy to avoid the legal fees required to defend himself in court. (That same day, Smith resigned from his position at Turning Point Action.) He also claimed that the complaint was part of a “coordinated attack” and a “well-organized effort.” But as Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts noted, “If, in fact, this was some Democratic conspiracy to chase an innocent man from the Legislature, it’s curious that Smith wouldn’t defend himself. More curious still is the fact that not a single Republican legislator has called for his resignation in light of his refusal to answer allegations of election fraud.” Smith repeatedly claimed that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, and on the eve of the January 6, 2021, insurrection — in a now-deleted post on X — Smith reportedly urged his followers to not “get comfortable” and “fight like hell.” 

In a recent post, Smith promoted a colleague running against Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican official scorned by pro-Trump figures for pushing back on false election fraud narratives in his county. 

The same right-wing media outlets who bellyache about supposed "voter fraud" are silent that a TPUSA-affiliated Turning Point Action senior director and Arizona State Rep. Austin Smith (R) forged signatures to get on the ballot.

[gwydionmisha]

Cat Moving Kittens By Austin Smith

We must have known, Even as we reached Down to touch them Where we'd found them   Shut-eyed and trembling Under a straw bale In the haymow, that She would move them   That night under cover Of darkness, and that By finding them We were making certain   We wouldn't see them again Until we saw them Crouching under the pickup Like sullen teens, having gone   As wild by then as they'd gone Still in her mouth that night She made a decision Any mother might make   Upon guessing the intentions Of the state: to go and to Go now, taking everything You love between your teeth.

[blackinperiodfilms]

Kindred | Official Trailer | FX

As Dana (Mallori Johnson), a young Black woman and aspiring writer, begins to settle in her new home, she finds herself being pulled back and forth in time, emerging at a nineteenth-century plantation and confronting secrets she never knew ran through her blood.

“Whatever’s happening to you, it’s real.” Based on the best selling novel by Octavia E. Butler comes FX’s Kindred, all episodes streaming 12.13. Only on Hulu.