Austin Cole Smith, a former legislator from Buckeye, Arizona, was sentenced after pleading guilty to two charges in Maricopa County Superior Court. Judge Aryeh Schwartz imposed a sentence of two years of supervised probation. Smith is also barred from running for public office for five years and must pay a $5,000 fine with an additional 10% surcharge.
Attorney General Kris Mayes commented on the sentencing: “If you try to illegally manipulate Arizona’s elections or mislead Arizona voters, you will be held accountable under the law,” said Attorney General Mayes. “There are real consequences for cheating the system.”
Smith pleaded guilty to attempted fraudulent schemes and practices, which is classified as a class 6 undesignated offense, and illegal signing of election petitions, a class 1 misdemeanor. As part of his plea agreement, Smith admitted to signing the name of a deceased woman on one of his candidate nomination petitions in March 2024. He also acknowledged that he tried to deceive the Secretary of State’s Office by knowingly submitting petitions containing forged signatures supporting his nomination for the Republican primary for State Representative from Legislative District 29.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office serves as the main legal authority in the state and provides advocacy and protection services for residents through various programs such as consumer complaint handling and civil rights support. The office also addresses issues like elder abuse and unsolved crimes via its cold case unit and participates in lawsuits related to housing fairness and social media accountability (official website, official website). Kris Mayes currently serves as Arizona’s 27th attorney general (official website).
A copy of the indictment and Smith’s photo were made available by authorities.
