Is voter fraud a problem in the US?

Based on extensive research, government audits, and court proceedings, the overwhelming consensus among election experts, academic researchers, and bipartisan election officials is that voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the United States and does not occur on a scale that could alter the outcome of a national or statewide election.

While isolated cases of individual voter fraud do occur and are prosecuted, they represent a microscopic percentage of the hundreds of millions of ballots cast in U.S. elections.

The data surrounding voter fraud, the reasons for its rarity, and the ongoing political debate regarding how to address it highlight the complexity of the issue.

What the Data Shows

Numerous studies, audits, and database analyses have consistently demonstrated the rarity of voter fraud:

•Academic and Nonpartisan Studies: The Brennan Center for Justice conducted multiple reviews of elections and found that the rate of voter fraud is between 0.00004% and 0.0009%. A study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) analyzing mail-in voting over a 20-year period found that mail-in ballot fraud is "exceedingly rare".

•The Heritage Foundation Database: The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that advocates for stricter voting laws, maintains a comprehensive database of proven voter fraud cases dating back to 1982. Over more than 40 years—during which billions of votes were cast—the database lists roughly 1,620 proven cases of election fraud. Analysts point out that this database actually highlights how rare fraud is: for example, in Arizona, the database found only 36 cases of fraud over 25 years (out of more than 42 million ballots cast), a rate of 0.0000845%.

•Post-2020 Audits and Investigations: Following the 2020 presidential election, numerous battleground states conducted exhaustive audits, hand recounts, and investigations. In Georgia, Texas, and Arizona, officials (including Republican secretaries of state) verified the election results and found no evidence of systemic fraud. An Associated Press review of six swing states from the 2020 election identified fewer than 475 potential cases of voter fraud out of more than 25 million ballots cast.

Why is Voter Fraud So Rare?

Experts point to two main reasons why voter fraud is highly uncommon:

1.High Risk, Low Reward: Individual voter fraud in a federal election is a felony. It carries penalties of up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Because a single fraudulent vote is statistically meaningless to the outcome of almost any election, the risk-to-reward ratio for an individual is heavily skewed against committing fraud.

2.Decentralization: The U.S. election system is highly decentralized, run by thousands of independent local jurisdictions with different machines, security protocols, and paper ballot trails. Successfully executing a coordinated, large-scale voter fraud scheme without being detected by bipartisan observers, audits, or voting machines is nearly impossible.

Common Misconceptions

Public concern over voter fraud often stems from a conflation of intentional fraud with administrative errors or outdated records:

•Voter Registration vs. Voting: It is common for voter registration rolls to contain errors—such as people who have moved to another state, changed their names, or passed away. While keeping voter rolls clean is an administrative challenge, the existence of an outdated registration does not mean a fraudulent vote has been cast using that name.

•Clerical Errors: Minor clerical mistakes by election workers or voters (such as signing the wrong line on a poll book or accidentally registering in two counties) are sometimes flagged as potential fraud but are almost always resolved as harmless human errors.

The Political Debate: "Access vs. Security"

Despite its statistically low occurrence, voter fraud remains a highly contentious topic in American politics, dividing lawmakers into two main camps:

•The Argument for Stricter Voting Laws (Election Security): Proponents of stricter laws (often Republicans) argue that even a single fraudulent vote undermines public trust in the democratic process. They contend that in very close local elections (such as a city council or mayoral race decided by a few dozen votes), even a tiny amount of fraud can change the outcome. To protect election integrity, they advocate for measures such as strict photo identification requirements, eliminating drop boxes, and purging inactive voters from registration rolls.

•The Argument Against Stricter Voting Laws (Voter Access): Voting rights advocates (often Democrats) argue that because voter fraud is practically nonexistent, passing highly restrictive voting laws is a "solution in search of a problem". They argue that these measures—such as strict ID requirements and limits on mail-in or early voting—disproportionately disenfranchise legitimate eligible voters, particularly low-income citizens, students, the elderly, and racial minorities who may struggle to obtain specific government-issued IDs.

Citations (8)

1southcarolinapublicradio.orgNot yet classified
southcarolinapublicradio.org
Backs: “Based on extensive research, government audits, and court proceedings, the overwhelming consensus among election experts, academic researchers, and bipartisan election officials is that voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the United States and does not occur on a scale that could alter the outcome of a national or…”
2wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
wikipedia.org
Backs: “Based on extensive research, government audits, and court proceedings, the overwhelming consensus among election experts, academic researchers, and bipartisan election officials is that voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the United States and does not occur on a scale that could alter the outcome of a national or…”
3brookings.eduNonprofits and think tanks
brookings.edu
Backs: “Based on extensive research, government audits, and court proceedings, the overwhelming consensus among election experts, academic researchers, and bipartisan election officials is that voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the United States and does not occur on a scale that could alter the outcome of a national or…”
4facebook.comSocial media and video
facebook.com
Backs: “While isolated cases of individual voter fraud do occur and are prosecuted, they represent a microscopic percentage of the hundreds of millions of ballots cast in U.S. elections.”
5policyarchive.orgNonprofits and think tanks
policyarchive.org
Backs: “Academic and Nonpartisan Studies: The Brennan Center for Justice conducted multiple reviews of elections and found that the rate of voter fraud is between 0.00004% and 0.0009%.”
6heritage.orgNonprofits and think tanks
heritage.org
Backs: “The Heritage Foundation Database: The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that advocates for stricter voting laws, maintains a comprehensive database of proven voter fraud cases dating back to 1982.”
7electioninnovation.orgAcademic
electioninnovation.org
Backs: “In Georgia, Texas, and Arizona, officials (including Republican secretaries of state) verified the election results and found no evidence of systemic fraud. An Associated Press review of six swing states from the 2020 election identified fewer than 475 potential cases of voter fraud out of more than 25 million ballots…”
8projectvote.orgNonprofits and think tanks
projectvote.org
Backs: “High Risk, Low Reward: Individual voter fraud in a federal election is a felony. It carries penalties of up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.”