A former Turning Point Action leader who spent years crusading against supposed election fraud has been sentenced for committing the very crimes he claimed to be fighting, exposing stunning hypocrisy within conservative ranks.
Story Highlights
- Austin Smith sentenced to probation, $5,000 fine, and five-year office ban for forging petition signatures
- Former Arizona legislator and Turning Point Action leader championed election integrity while committing election fraud
- Smith forged signatures including that of a deceased woman to qualify for 2024 ballot
- Case undermines credibility of election fraud narratives pushed by conservative activists
Conservative Icon’s Shocking Fall from Grace
Austin Smith, 30, received his sentence after pleading guilty to attempted fraudulent schemes and illegal signing of election petitions. The former Arizona state representative and enterprise director at Turning Point Action forged multiple signatures on his 2024 reelection nominating petitions, including the signature of a deceased woman. Smith’s conviction represents a devastating blow to the election integrity movement he once championed.
Smith served one term in the Arizona House representing a suburban Phoenix district and aligned himself with the hard-right Arizona Freedom Caucus. During his tenure, he aggressively promoted claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election and sponsored unsuccessful legislation to ban mail-in voting in Arizona. His political career was deeply intertwined with Turning Point Action, where leaders Charlie Kirk and Tyler Bowyer recruited him in 2019.
Hypocrisy Exposed in Petition Scandal
The irony of Smith’s conviction cannot be overstated. While publicly questioning Arizona’s election integrity and supporting partisan audits of 2020 results in Maricopa County, Smith was simultaneously committing the exact type of election fraud he claimed to oppose. When initial questions about his forged signatures emerged, Smith dismissed them as a “silly” coordinated Democratic attack before ultimately dropping his campaign to avoid escalating legal costs.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes emphasized that forging signatures, especially those of deceased individuals, “erodes trust in our elections.” The Democratic prosecutor pledged continued enforcement against anyone attempting to “cheat the system and mislead Arizona voters.” Smith’s five-year ban from seeking office effectively ends his political career and serves as a warning to other would-be election manipulators.
Broader Implications for Conservative Movement
Smith’s conviction delivers a significant reputational blow to Turning Point Action and Turning Point USA, organizations that built their brands on election integrity rhetoric. The case exposes troubling questions about vetting processes within conservative organizations that claim to defend democratic principles while harboring individuals willing to subvert them. This scandal undermines the credibility of broader election fraud narratives promoted by some right-wing figures.
The case demonstrates that election fraud, when it actually occurs, often involves small-scale opportunistic behavior rather than the systematic conspiracies alleged by election denialists. Smith’s willingness to forge signatures for personal political gain while simultaneously promoting election integrity shows the dangerous disconnect between rhetoric and reality among some conservative activists. Patriots deserve leaders who actually uphold the principles they claim to defend, not hypocrites who exploit the system for personal advantage.
Sources:
Ex-Arizona lawmaker who questioned election integrity to be sentenced for using forged signatures
Former Arizona lawmaker Austin Smith pleads guilty to election fraud charges
Former Turning Point USA executive pleads guilty to election fraud
