Is voter fraud a problem in the US?

Short answer: Individual cases of voter fraud do occur in the U.S., but extensive research and official reviews consistently find they are rare and not widespread enough to change major election outcomes.

What the evidence shows

•Academic reviews of in‑person voter impersonation (the kind targeted by strict ID laws) have found vanishingly small rates—for example, 31 credible incidents out of more than 1 billion ballots cast from 2000–2014.[1]

•Courts and officials reviewing the 2020 election found no evidence of outcome‑changing fraud. A bipartisan group of federal, state, and industry election‑security officials called it “the most secure in American history”; then–Attorney General William Barr said DOJ found no fraud that would have changed the result; and judges dismissed dozens of post‑election lawsuits for lack of evidence.[2]

•State audits back this up. In Georgia, a full statewide hand audit, a machine recount, and a signature audit all affirmed the original 2020 result.[3]

•Nonpartisan and advocacy research generally finds reported “fraud” often traces to clerical errors or list‑matching mistakes rather than intentional illegal voting, and estimated impersonation rates are in the 0.0003%–0.0025% range.[4]

•Fraud does happen and is prosecuted. A notable recent example was the absentee‑ballot scheme in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District in 2018, which was serious enough that the state ordered a new election. A conservative tracker at the Heritage Foundation catalogs hundreds of convictions over several decades—illustrating that cases exist, but also that they are a tiny fraction of total votes cast.[5]

Bottom line: U.S. elections are not free of wrongdoing, but the best available data and repeated audits, investigations, and court rulings indicate voter fraud is a marginal phenomenon, not a systemic problem altering national results. If you’d like, tell me your state and I can summarize its safeguards and any recent cases.

Citations (5)

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: “Academic reviews of in‑person voter impersonation (the kind targeted by strict ID laws) have found vanishingly small rates—for example, 31 credible incidents out of more than 1 billion ballots cast from 2000–2014.”
2house.govGovernment
Joint Statement from Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council & the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive Committees | CISA
Backs: “A bipartisan group of federal, state, and industry election‑security officials called it “the most secure in American history”; then–Attorney General William Barr said DOJ found no fraud that would have changed the result; and judges dismissed dozens of post‑election lawsuits for lack of evidence.”
3ga.govGovernment
Historic First Statewide Audit of Paper Ballots Upholds Result of Presidential Race | Georgia Secretary of State
Backs: “In Georgia, a full statewide hand audit, a machine recount, and a signature audit all affirmed the original 2020 result.”
4brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth | Brennan Center for Justice
Backs: “Nonpartisan and advocacy research generally finds reported “fraud” often traces to clerical errors or list‑matching mistakes rather than intentional illegal voting, and estimated impersonation rates are in the 0.0003%–0.0025% range.”
5ncsbe.govGovernment
State Board unanimously orders new election in 9th Congressional District | NCSBE
Backs: “A conservative tracker at the Heritage Foundation catalogs hundreds of convictions over several decades—illustrating that cases exist, but also that they are a tiny fraction of total votes cast.”