AZ: GOP lawmaker faces calls to resign, drops out of primary election after fraud allegations

The campaign to elect Democrats to state legislatures nationwide is calling on Rep. Austin Smith to resign, joining others who are urging the lawmaker to step down after legal complaints that he forged signatures on his nomination petitions.

Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman, a Republican, called for the first-term Republican lawmaker's resignation Thursday. He cited Smith's unfounded claims of election fraud and contrasted that with allegations that Smith himself committed fraud by forging signatures.

On Friday, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee chimed in.

"Despite publicly posturing himself as a so-called defender of election integrity, these allegations reveal a more sinister picture of the lengths he was willing to go to remain in office," Abhi Rahman, the committee's communications director said in a statement.


https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2024/04/19/austin-smith-calls-to-resign-fraud-allegations/73385322007/