Is voter fraud a problem in the US?

Short answer: Voter fraud is real but extremely rare — it is not a widespread problem that affects election outcomes.

What the research shows

The overwhelming consensus from academic studies, courts, and election officials across the political spectrum is that extensive research reveals that fraud is very rare. Multiple independent lines of evidence point to the same conclusion:

Academic and government studies

•A comprehensive 2014 study published in The Washington Post found 31 credible instances of impersonation fraud from 2000 to 2014, out of more than 1 billion ballots cast.

•A 2012 nationwide study found the overall fraud rate to be "infinitesimal," with impersonation fraud by voters at the polls to be the rarest fraud of all: only 10 cases alleged in 12 years.

•A specialized United States Department of Justice unit formed with the goal of finding instances of federal election fraud examined the 2002 and 2004 federal elections, and were able to prove that 0.00000013 percent of ballots cast were fraudulent.

•A nonpartisan government review concluded: A 2014 study by the non-partisan Government Accountability Office, which reflected a literature review of the existing research on voter fraud, noted that the studies consistently found "few instances of in-person voter fraud."

The 2020 and 2024 elections specifically

•In December 2021, the Associated Press released a detailed fact-check which found fewer than 475 instances of voter fraud out of an estimated 25 million votes cast in the six battleground states, involving both Democrats and Republicans and almost always caught before the votes were counted.

•Even the Heritage Foundation's own database — compiled specifically to document fraud — is telling: in Arizona, Heritage had to go back 25 years, over which there were 36 elections held and 42,626,379 ballots cast, in order to come up with 36 cases of fraud. The percentage of fraudulent votes was a minuscule .0000845%, and no election outcome was altered by ballot fraud throughout that time period. Similarly, in Pennsylvania, Heritage data goes back 30 years and covers 32 elections with over 100 million votes cast and found only 39 cases of voter fraud.

Mail-in voting (often cited as more vulnerable)

•Studies consistently have found negligible evidence of fraud in state elections; researchers at the Brookings Institution examined cases of fraud reported during elections in 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022 and estimated there were about four cases of fraud for every 10 million mail ballots cast, on average.

Noncitizen voting

•A 2014 paper concluded that "the likely percent of non-citizen voters in recent US elections is 0."

Why fraud is so rare

Election experts point to several deterrents and safeguards: fraud of this kind and scale is essentially impossible, as elections are so decentralized and laced with safeguards, transparency, and verification systems that any fraud that does occur is either detected and reversed or on a scale too small to make a difference. Additionally, it's a criminal offense to commit ballot fraud, and most people don't want to go to jail, so that's a sufficient deterrent for almost everybody — it's probably a very small number of people who even attempt it.

An important distinction

Experts note that claims of "widespread" fraud often conflate real fraud with administrative errors or honest mistakes: conservative-leaning groups often lump all cases where the voter thought they were eligible along with cases where someone intended to commit fraud — these numbers don't distinguish between an allegation that may be incorrect or a situation where someone has voted in good faith incorrectly.

The political context

Despite this evidence, perception doesn't match reality — polling shows most Americans are concerned about voter fraud in this year's general election, with much of this concern driven by Republicans after years of former President Donald Trump and his GOP allies casting doubt on the legitimacy of U.S. elections. Courts have repeatedly rejected fraud claims when evidence was examined, including Trump-appointed judges who reviewed 2020 lawsuits.

Bottom line: Voter fraud does occur in isolated instances, but decades of research across academia, government agencies, courts, and even conservative organizations like the Heritage Foundation confirm it happens at microscopic rates (often far less than 0.01% of ballots cast) and has never been shown to alter an election outcome in modern U.S. history.

Citations (15)

1brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
The Myth of Voter Fraud | Brennan Center for Justice
Source excerpt: “Extensive research reveals that fraud is very rare. ”
2brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth | Brennan Center for Justice
Source excerpt: “A comprehensive 2014 study published in The Washington Post found 31 credible instances of impersonation fraud from 2000 to 2014, out of more than 1 b...”
3brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth | Brennan Center for Justice
Source excerpt: “A 2012 study exhaustively pulled records from every state for all alleged election fraud, and found the overall fraud rate to be “infinitesimal” and i...”
4brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth | Brennan Center for Justice
Source excerpt: “A specialized United States Department of Justice unit formed with the goal of finding instances of federal election fraud examined the 2002 and 2004 ...”
5brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth | Brennan Center for Justice
Source excerpt: “A 2014 study by the non-partisan Government Accountability Office, which reflected a literature review of the existing research on voter fraud, noted ...”
6wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
Electoral fraud in the United States - Wikipedia
Source excerpt: “In December 2021, the Associated Press released a detailed fact-check which found fewer than 475 instances of voter fraud out of an estimated 25 milli...”
7brookings.eduNonprofits and think tanks
How widespread is election fraud in the United States? Not very | Brookings
Source excerpt: “Looking at the seven closest states, we find for instance that in Arizona, Heritage had to go back 25 years, over which there were 36 elections held a...”
8brookings.eduNonprofits and think tanks
How widespread is election fraud in the United States? Not very | Brookings
Source excerpt: “In the highly contested state of Pennsylvania, Heritage data goes back 30 years and covers 32 elections with over 100 million votes cast and found onl...”
9sciline.orgNonprofits and think tanks
What research tells us about voter fraud - SciLine
Source excerpt: “As noted in SciLine’s reporting guide on voting by mail, “‘Studies consistently have found negligible evidence of fraud in state elections,’ researche...”
10brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth
Source excerpt: “ A 2014 paper concluded that “the likely percent of non-citizen voters in recent US elections is 0.” ”
11electioninnovation.orgAcademic
How common is voter fraud?
Source excerpt: “Not only have these things certainly not happened, but fraud of this kind and scale is essentially impossible. Our elections are so decentralized and ...”
12newsweek.comNews and mediaquality 0.82
Voter Fraud in US Elections? What the Data and Research Shows - Newsweek
Source excerpt: “"It's a criminal offense to commit ballot fraud, and most people don't want to go to jail. So that's a sufficient deterrent for almost everybody," Dar...”
13npr.orgNews and mediaquality 0.93
How we know voter fraud is very rare in U.S. elections
Source excerpt: “Clapman said conservative-leaning groups often lump all cases where the voter thought they were eligible along with cases where someone intended to co...”
14npr.orgNews and mediaquality 0.93
How we know voter fraud is very rare in U.S. elections
Source excerpt: “Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption i Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images · Most Americans are concerned about voter...”
15npr.orgNews and mediaquality 0.93
How we know voter fraud is very rare in U.S. elections
Source excerpt: “Much of this concern is driven by Republicans after years of former President Donald Trump and his GOP allies casting doubt on the legitimacy of U.S. ...”