Is voter fraud a problem in the US?

Short answer: Voter fraud exists but is rare in the U.S., and there’s no credible evidence of it occurring on a scale that would swing statewide or national results. Most problems people notice are due to clerical errors, bad data matches, or misunderstandings rather than deliberate fraud.[1]

What the research shows

•Large-scale studies and reviews consistently find vanishingly small rates. For example, a Stanford analysis of Washington state voter files found “deceased voter” fraud at about 0.000004 per voter, and broader work finds mail voting fraud rates on the order of a few cases per 10 million ballots.[2]

•Independent and government-linked election experts likewise concluded the 2020 election was secure, with paper records and audits available to verify results.[3]

What still does happen

•Isolated schemes do occur and are prosecuted, and they can matter in very close local races. Two examples: the North Carolina 9th Congressional District race (2018) was thrown out over an absentee-ballot scheme and re-run, and a 2021 Compton, California city council race decided by one vote was overturned after fraud findings.[4]

•Conservative and nonpartisan trackers catalog these cases over many decades; even they characterize the lists as non-exhaustive and small relative to the billions of ballots cast.[5]

Safeguards that limit risk

•Voter registration checks, poll books, ID or signature verification (varies by state), barcodes and chain-of-custody for mail ballots, paper ballots in most jurisdictions, and post-election audits all make widespread fraud hard to pull off and easier to detect.[3]

Bottom line: Voter fraud is a real but infrequent crime in the U.S. It’s pursued when found and can affect very tight local contests, but the best available evidence indicates it is not a systemic problem in modern statewide or national elections.[1]

Citations (5)

1brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth | Brennan Center for Justice
Backs: “Most problems people notice are due to clerical errors, bad data matches, or misunderstandings rather than deliberate fraud.”
2stanford.eduAcademic
How does vote-by-mail change American elections? | Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR)
Backs: “For example, a Stanford analysis of Washington state voter files found “deceased voter” fraud at about 0.000004 per voter, and broader work finds mail voting fraud rates on the order of a few cases per 10 million ballots.”
3house.govGovernment
Joint Statement from Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council & the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive Committees | CISA
Backs: “Independent and government-linked election experts likewise concluded the 2020 election was secure, with paper records and audits available to verify results.”
4ncsbe.govGovernment
State Board unanimously orders new election in 9th Congressional District | NCSBE
Backs: “Two examples: the North Carolina 9th Congressional District race (2018) was thrown out over an absentee-ballot scheme and re-run, and a 2021 Compton, California city council race decided by one vote was overturned after fraud findings.”
5heritage.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Heritage Database | Election Fraud Map: About the Election Fraud Map | The Heritage Foundation
Backs: “Conservative and nonpartisan trackers catalog these cases over many decades; even they characterize the lists as non-exhaustive and small relative to the billions of ballots cast.”