Former Republican lawmaker Austin Smith is scheduled for sentencing Tuesday following his guilty plea to election fraud charges stemming from forged signatures on nominating petitions for his 2024 primary campaign.

Smith, 30, admitted to attempting to use petitions containing forged signatures and personally forging the signature of a deceased woman. He pleaded guilty in mid-November to charges of attempted fraudulent schemes and practices, and illegal signing of election petitions.

The former Arizona state representative served one term representing a House district in Phoenix’s suburbs before his political career came to an abrupt end in April 2024. Smith withdrew his reelection bid when questions surfaced about the validity of signatures on his nominating petitions.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Smith is expected to receive probation, pay a $5,000 fine, and be barred from seeking public office for five years. The sentencing marks a dramatic fall for a young politician who had positioned himself as a champion of election integrity.

Smith had previously dismissed the allegations as a “coordinated attack by Democrats” that was “silly on its face.” He claimed he dropped his reelection campaign to avoid accumulating legal bills, but the subsequent guilty plea confirmed the legitimacy of the charges against him.

The case carries particular irony given Smith’s public stance on election issues. During his time in office, Smith vocally supported the controversial Republican-backed review of Maricopa County’s 2020 presidential election results—an effort that failed to substantiate former President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud. Smith also sponsored legislation attempting to ban mail-in voting in Arizona, a proposal that did not advance through the legislature.

In campaign materials, Smith had specifically complained about “political elites breaking election laws,” positioning himself as a defender of election integrity even as he was committing election fraud himself.

Beyond his role as a state lawmaker, Smith held a leadership position at Turning Point Action, the political campaign arm of the influential conservative organization Turning Point USA. He resigned from this position concurrent with dropping his reelection bid in April. According to his biographical information, Smith had been personally recruited to launch Turning Point Action in 2019 by the organization’s co-founder Charlie Kirk and top leader Tyler Bowyer.

Turning Point USA and its affiliated organizations have emerged as significant players in Arizona Republican politics in recent years, focusing on youth outreach and activism. The group has expanded its influence beyond campus organizing to become deeply involved in election campaigns and conservative policy advocacy.

Smith’s case highlights the contradiction between rhetoric and actions that sometimes emerges in politics. While publicly questioning the integrity of Arizona’s elections and positioning himself as an election integrity advocate, Smith was simultaneously engaging in the very type of fraudulent behavior he claimed to oppose.

The case may also serve as a cautionary tale about the increasing polarization in American politics, where allegations of election fraud have become commonplace despite limited evidence of widespread problems. Smith’s conviction represents one of the few documented cases of actual attempted election fraud in Arizona in recent years.

As Smith prepares to face sentencing, his case stands as a reminder of the legal consequences that can follow violations of election laws, regardless of political affiliation or public position on election integrity issues.