Is voter fraud a problem in the US?

Voter fraud claims are widespread — I'll check the latest data and research to see what the evidence shows.

In the United States, voter fraud exists but research consistently finds it is extremely rare and not at a level that affects federal election outcomes.

What studies show about the rate

Across the major studies cited, documented fraud runs below 0.002% of ballots cast — and in most far below.

More specific reviews report even lower rates:

•Brennan Center for Justice longitudinal research found incident rates between approximately 0.0003% and 0.0025% in studied contests — meaning roughly 1 to 25 fraudulent votes per million cast

•The U.S. Department of Justice review of the 2002–2004 federal elections could prove fraud in 0.00000013% of ballots and found no coordinated effort to tilt an election

•A study in The Washington Post found 31 credible cases of voter impersonation — voting in person as someone else — from 2000–2014, out of more than 1 billion ballots, about 0.000003%

Even data collected by groups concerned about fraud shows rarity:

•The Heritage Foundation — which warns about election security — keeps a database of proven fraud cases that it calls "a sampling." As of August 2026 it listed 1,619 cases spanning several decades. Set against the more than 1 billion votes cast in that time, that is under 0.0002% of ballots — roughly 1 in 600,000

•Brookings' review of Heritage Foundation data found, for example, that in Arizona across 36 elections and 42.6 million ballots there were 36 documented cases—about 0.0000845% of ballots—and that no federal outcome was changed

•An Associated Press review of the six disputed 2020 battleground states found fewer than 475 possible fraud cases out of more than 25 million ballots — under 0.002%

Researchers have concluded that no major academic study, court ruling, or official investigation has found evidence of fraud at a scale sufficient to change a statewide election outcome.

What types of fraud are documented

The United States government defines voter or ballot fraud as one category of federal election crimes. Types include voter impersonation or in-person voter fraud, mail-in or absentee ballot fraud, illegal voting by noncitizens, and double voting.

Where fraud does appear, it tends to cluster in narrow, specific forms—registration schemes, forged absentee applications, isolated instances of double voting or ineligible ballots—not mass conspiracies to flip large federal contests, and when fraud has affected outcomes it has most often been at the local level where margins are tiny.

What audits and courts found after 2020

Dozens of audits, recounts and court proceedings scrutinized the 2020 election and "none found the widespread voter fraud" alleged by some political actors.

•Recounts, audits, lawsuits, and contests in the 2020 battleground states did not change the presidential result

•More than 60 lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign and allied plaintiffs were considered by courts and, in nearly every instance, judges refused to find systemic fraud that would alter the outcome

Caveats and why perception differs

These low percentages are subject to caveats: databases sample different timeframes and definitions (charges versus convictions), and some critics note that focusing only on proven cases understates attempted or undetected fraud—though large, methodical audits and cross‑state studies have nevertheless failed to find evidence of widespread, outcome‑changing fraud.

U.S. elections are decentralized across thousands of state and local jurisdictions, most use paper ballots or auditable paper records, and many states require post-election audits, voter list maintenance, and chain-of-custody procedures, which makes large-scale undetected fraud difficult.

Bottom line

When asked for a single percentage, the best reporting-supported answer is that documented voter fraud rates fall far below one hundredth of a percent—typically measured in the hundred‑thousandths to millionths of a percent depending on the study and sample.

That does not mean fraud never happens — cases are prosecuted every year and involve real criminal penalties — but the empirical record shows it is not a systemic problem that decides national or statewide elections, while isolated incidents and administrative errors still require investigation and safeguards.

Citations (2)

1claimyourvoterpower.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Election Fraud & Security — ClaimYourVoterPower.org Fact Brief
Backs: “In the United States, voter fraud exists but research consistently finds it is extremely rare and not at a level that affects federal election outcomes. What studies show about the rate”
2factually.coLow provenance
What Percentage of Votes in the United States Are Prov...
Backs: “Set against the more than 1 billion votes cast in that time, that is under 0.0002% of ballots — roughly 1 in 600,000. Brookings' review of Heritage Foundation data found, for example, that in Arizona across 36 elections and 42.6 million ballots there were 36 documented cases—about 0.0000845% of ballots—and that no…”