‘With 1,000% certainty’: Voters say candidates faked their donations to get public campaign cash

At least six Arizona voters say three statewide candidates — Green Party's Risa Lombardo and Duwayne Collier, and Republican Scott Neely — used their names without permission on forms claiming $5 qualifying donations for Clean Elections public funding. Nearly 4,000 voters were listed as donors across the three campaigns, with over 2,600 supposedly giving to all three, accounting for roughly 75% of listed contributors.

Voters told the Mirror they never made the donations, though signatures and handwriting resembling theirs appeared on the forms; several recalled signing unrelated petitions at grocery stores or dispensaries. The Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission confirmed it is investigating, and a former attorney general said the fraud could produce felony charges for candidates, treasurers, and signature gatherers.

It remains unclear where the money to qualify for public funding actually came from if not from the listed voters, and neither the Secretary of State's Office nor the Attorney General's Office responded to detailed questions.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.