An Arizona man has been indicted for forging signatures on the state’s pro-abortion ballot measure in 2024.
According to the allegations filed by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, 53-year-old Anthony Harris was collecting petition signatures last April in an effort to get Proposition 139, the Arizona Abortion Access Act, on the state’s November ballot. He turned in the petition with dozens of signatures which investigators say were forged. Harris had also reportedly certified as a petition circulator despite the fact that he had past convictions that made him ineligible.
According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Harris has been charged with two felonies, including the aggravated taking identity of another and fraudulent schemes and practices, as well as two misdemeanors, including one count of circulator registration violation and 10 counts of petition false signatures.
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According to the indictment, the number of signatures Harris is alleged to have forged did not make a difference in the overall number needed to get the measure on the ballot. Prop 139 went on to be ratified by voters, enshrining abortion as a constitutional “right” in the state.
Harris is the second person facing charges of forging signatures during the petition drive for Prop 139; in February, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell indicted petition-collector Michele Brimmer on similar charges. As with Harris, the number of forged signatures was said to have been inconsequential to the final outcome of the measure.
“I want to make this very, very clear. The number of signatures that we are talking about that are affected in this investigation would not have made a difference as to whether this proposition got on the ballot,” said Mitchell at the time. “My focus is this: fraudulent petitions, fraudulent petition signatures undermine the public’s trust in our elections.”
“We’re talking about a case that involved fraudulent signatures placed on an election petition. That is a crime, and those who engage in that conduct will be held accountable,” she added.
