Is voter fraud a problem in the US?

Voter Fraud in the US: What the Evidence Shows

Based on extensive research and data, voter fraud does occur in the US, but multiple studies consistently show it is extremely rare relative to the total number of votes cast, and there's no credible evidence it has affected election outcomes at scale.

The Data on Rarity

Multiple academic and investigative studies have quantified fraud rates:

Even Conservative Sources Show Low Numbers

Even the Heritage Foundation's database—often cited by those concerned about fraud—shows small absolute numbers relative to total votes: Heritage laid out cases in every state, creating the "Election Fraud Database," which found 1,561 instances of voter fraud that resulted in 1,325 convictions. For context, in Arizona specifically, that meant around 42.6 million votes cast with only 36 cases of fraud in total. Pennsylvania saw a similarly tiny ratio: over 100 million votes cast in 32 elections across 30 years and only around 39 cases of voter fraud.

2024 Election Cycle

Fraud prosecutions tied to the 2024 election remained minimal: of the Heritage cases, 20 were brought in 2024, with charges ranging from ineligible voting to false registrations, duplicate voting and ineligible voting. Overall analysis concluded that the available reporting shows very few criminal prosecutions for voter fraud tied directly to the 2024 election, with multiple investigations yielding small numbers of indictments or convictions and many inquiries finding no charges.

There have been some notable individual cases prosecuted since 2024—including DOJ charges against noncitizens who voted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Wisconsin, and a Massachusetts case involving someone who voted in 2024 under a stolen identity. These cases are real, but they represent isolated incidents rather than a systemic pattern.

Types of Fraud Found

When fraud is documented, it typically doesn't match popular narratives about widespread in-person impersonation fraud. Research indicates that the rare fraud that was reported generally could be traced to "false claims by the loser of a close race, mischief and administrative or voter error." Studies focused specifically on voter impersonation found it to be vanishingly rare: a follow-up study, which looked for fraud specifically in states where politicians have argued that fraud is a pernicious problem, found zero successful prosecutions for impersonation fraud in five states from 2012–2016.

Many apparent fraud cases turn out to be clerical or administrative errors rather than intentional fraud. Many perceived instances of voter fraud are simply clerical errors: either errors of poll books, errors in registration records, and other simple human errors.

Bottom Line

The consensus among election researchers—including from institutions across the political spectrum—is that voter fraud, while it does happen in isolated instances, is not a widespread systemic problem in the US. As one Brennan Center researcher put it: "Voter fraud is not a significant problem in the country." The debate that persists is largely about how policy responses (like voter ID laws) should be calibrated given this low base rate, with critics arguing such measures address a largely theoretical problem while potentially creating barriers to legitimate voting.