Is voter fraud a problem in the US?

Short answer: No, not to a degree that affects election outcomes

Extensive, nonpartisan research consistently finds that voter fraud in the U.S. is extremely rare and does not occur at a scale that could sway elections—even though it does happen occasionally in isolated cases.

What the research shows

Multiple independent studies find negligible rates:

•A comprehensive 2014 study published in The Washington Post found 31 credible instances of impersonation fraud from 2000 to 2014, out of more than 1 billion ballots cast.

•A Brennan Center report reviewed elections that had been meticulously studied for voter fraud, and found incident rates between 0.0003 percent and 0.0025 percent, making it more likely an American will be struck by lightning than commit voter impersonation.

•A study of 2,068 alleged election-fraud cases in 50 states between 2000 and 2012 found the level of fraud was infinitesimal compared with the 146 million voters registered over that period, with only 10 cases of voter impersonation identified.

•A database search of billions of ballots cast over 40 years of US elections found roughly 1,000 individual examples of voter fraud.

Recent elections specifically:

•Researchers at the Brookings Institution examined cases of fraud reported during elections in 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022 and estimated there were about four cases of fraud for every 10 million mail ballots cast, on average.

•Despite increased investigative efforts by Republican-run states, the number of potential fraud instances found amounts to a tiny fraction of ballots cast—for example, Ohio's Secretary of State found 75 voters who allegedly cast ballots in two states in 2020, out of almost 6 million ballots cast that year.

•In 2024, 20 fraud cases were brought nationwide, with charges ranging from ineligible voting to false registrations and duplicate voting.

Specific fraud categories that get significant political attention:

•Non-citizen voting: A 2014 paper concluded that "the likely percent of non-citizen voters in recent US elections is 0."

•2016 election claims: A follow-up study looking for fraud specifically in states where politicians argued fraud was a pernicious problem found zero successful prosecutions for impersonation fraud in five states from 2012–2016.

•2020 election claims: Senior officials in the Trump administration, including Attorney General Bill Barr and chief cybersecurity official Chris Krebs, confirmed that no significant fraud was present in the 2020 election. Courts agreed: judges appointed by Trump reviewed evidence and reached the conclusion there was not widespread ballot fraud and the election was not stolen.

Even the Trump administration's own review reached the same conclusion: Numerous other studies, including one commissioned by the Trump administration, have reached the same conclusion that fraud is rare.

The perception gap

There's a notable disconnect between public perception and the data: despite the fact election fraud is extremely rare, six in ten U.S. adults were concerned about it ahead of the 2024 presidential election, with this fear particularly pronounced among Republican-leaning voters at 86 percent, versus 55 percent of Independents and 33 percent of Democratic-leaning voters.

Bottom line

As one Brennan Center expert put it: "Research has been consistent over time that voter fraud is infinitesimally rare and almost never occurs on a scale that would affect an election outcome." Individual cases do occasionally occur and are prosecuted, but the overwhelming consensus across decades of nonpartisan and even Republican-commissioned research is that voter fraud is not a widespread problem capable of altering election results in the U.S.

Citations (15)

1brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth | Brennan Center for Justice
Source excerpt: “A comprehensive 2014 study published in The Washington Post found 31 credible instances of impersonation fraud from 2000 to 2014, out of more than 1 b...”
2brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth | Brennan Center for Justice
Source excerpt: “The report reviewed elections that had been meticulously studied for voter fraud, and found incident rates between 0.0003 percent and 0.0025 percent. ...”
3nbcnews.comNews and mediaquality 0.84
Study Finds No Evidence of Widespread Voter Fraud
Source excerpt: “A study of 2,068 alleged election-fraud cases in 50 states between 2000 and 2012 found the level of fraud was infinitesimal compared with the 146 mill...”
4electioninnovation.orgAcademic
How common is voter fraud?
Source excerpt: “A database search of billions of ballots cast over 40 years of US elections found roughly 1,000 individual examples of voter fraud. ”
5sciline.orgNonprofits and think tanks
What research tells us about voter fraud - SciLine
Source excerpt: “Researchers at the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan think tank, examined cases of fraud reported during elections in 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022 an...”
6npr.orgNews and mediaquality 0.93
How we know voter fraud is very rare in U.S. elections
Source excerpt: “Despite the increased efforts, the number of potential instances of fraud they are actually finding amounts to a tiny fraction of the number of ballot...”
7newsweek.comNews and mediaquality 0.82
Voter Fraud in US Elections? What the Data and Research Shows - Newsweek
Source excerpt: “Of those, 20 cases were brought in 2024, with charges ranging from ineligible voting to false registrations, duplicate voting and ineligible voting. ”
8brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth
Source excerpt: “ A 2014 paper concluded that “the likely percent of non-citizen voters in recent US elections is 0.” ”
9brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth | Brennan Center for Justice
Source excerpt: “The follow-up study, which looked for fraud specifically in states where politicians have argued that fraud is a pernicious problem, found zero succes...”
10electioninnovation.orgAcademic
How common is voter fraud?
Source excerpt: “But added to the reasons above are statements by senior officials in the Trump administration, including Attorney General Bill Barr and chief cybersec...”
11newsweek.comNews and mediaquality 0.82
Voter Fraud in US Elections? What the Data and Research Shows - Newsweek
Source excerpt: “"There were judges appointed by Donald Trump, and they all reached the conclusion there was not widespread ballot fraud and the election was not stole...”
12brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
The Myth of Voter Fraud | Brennan Center for Justice
Source excerpt: “Numerous other studies, including one commissioned by the Trump administration, have reached the same conclusion.”
13statista.comData and toolsquality 0.86
2024 Presidential Election
Source excerpt: “2024 Presidential Election Despite Lack of Evidence, Americans Fear Voter Fraud Despite the fact election fraud is extremely rare, six in ten U.S. a...”
14statista.comData and toolsquality 0.86
2024 Presidential Election
Source excerpt: “When looking along party lines, this fear was particularly pronounced among Republican-leaning voters at 86 percent, versus 55 percent of Independents...”
15npr.orgNews and mediaquality 0.93
How we know voter fraud is very rare in U.S. elections
Source excerpt: ““Research has been consistent over time that voter fraud is infinitesimally rare and almost never occurs on a scale that would affect an election outc...”