Is voter fraud a problem in the US?

Short answer: Documented voter fraud in the United States exists but is rare and has not been shown to alter election outcomes. Isolated cases are investigated and prosecuted each cycle, but large-scale or outcome-changing fraud has not been substantiated by courts, audits, or credible research.

What the evidence shows

•Impersonation at the polls—the kind targeted by strict photo ID rules—is vanishingly rare: one analysis found 31 credible incidents out of more than 1 billion ballots cast from 2000–2014.[1]

•Broad reviews by nonpartisan researchers and courts have repeatedly found overall voter-fraud rates to be extremely low. Summaries from the Brennan Center compile multiple studies and court findings reaching the same conclusion.[2]

•A conservative-leaning catalog of “proven instances” (the Heritage Foundation database) shows that fraud cases do occur across years and states—but it is a non-exhaustive sampling and does not indicate widespread or systemic fraud.[3]

•After the 2020 election, the government’s election-security coalition said it was “the most secure in American history,” noting no evidence that voting systems deleted, lost, or changed votes; dozens of post-election lawsuits challenging results failed in court.[4]

•Research on voting by mail finds no evidence that expanding mail voting increases fraud.[5]

Bottom line: Fraud happens occasionally, but at rates so low that it’s not considered a systemic problem. Concerns that do affect confidence and operations more often involve administrative issues, attempts to spread misinformation, or routine human error—not organized, outcome-changing fraud.[6]

If you’d like, I can break this down by type of fraud (impersonation, double voting, noncitizen voting, absentee ballot schemes) or by a specific state.

Citations (6)

1washingtonpost.comNews and mediaquality 0.82
A comprehensive investigation of voter impersonation finds 31 credible incidents out of one billion ballots cast - The Washington Post
Backs: “Impersonation at the polls—the kind targeted by strict photo ID rules—is vanishingly rare: one analysis found 31 credible incidents out of more than 1 billion ballots cast from 2000–2014.”
2brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth
Backs: “Summaries from the Brennan Center compile multiple studies and court findings reaching the same conclusion.”
3heritage.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Heritage Database | Election Fraud Map | The Heritage Foundation
Backs: “A conservative-leaning catalog of “proven instances” (the Heritage Foundation database) shows that fraud cases do occur across years and states—but it is a non-exhaustive sampling and does not indicate widespread or systemic fraud.”
4house.govGovernment
Joint Statement from Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council & the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive Committees | CISA
Backs: “After the 2020 election, the government’s election-security coalition said it was “the most secure in American history,” noting no evidence that voting systems deleted, lost, or changed votes; dozens of post-election lawsuits challenging results failed in court.”
5amstat.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Does voting by mail increase fraud? Estimating the change in reported voter fraud when states switch to elections by mail.
Backs: “Research on voting by mail finds no evidence that expanding mail voting increases fraud.”
6caltech.eduAcademic
Voter-Registration Fraud: How Election Officials Find and Prevent It - Caltech Science Exchange
Backs: “Concerns that do affect confidence and operations more often involve administrative issues, attempts to spread misinformation, or routine human error—not organized, outcome-changing fraud.”