Is voter fraud a problem in the US?

Short answer: Individual cases of voter fraud do occur in the U.S., but the best available evidence shows they are rare and have not been found at a scale that would change national election outcomes.

What the evidence shows

•Studies and reviews of allegations consistently find very low incidence of voter fraud (including noncitizen voting and in‑person voter impersonation). The Brennan Center’s summaries of multiple studies and court records conclude fraud by voters is “vanishingly rare.”[1]

•After the 2020 election, federal and state officials (including CISA and its election partners) said it was the most secure in American history; DOJ leadership at the time also said they had not found evidence of widespread fraud that could have changed the outcome, and courts repeatedly rejected such claims.[2]

•Large compilations of proven cases exist, but the totals are small relative to hundreds of millions of ballots cast; even a right‑leaning database that tracks prosecutions lists on the order of thousands over many years, not evidence of pervasive national fraud.[3]

Important nuance

•Fraud is not zero. Isolated schemes—often involving absentee ballots—have led to prosecutions or even new elections in local races (e.g., North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District in 2018; Paterson, New Jersey, 2020 city council race). These are the exceptions that prove the rule and are usually detected and remedied.[4]

Safeguards and ongoing work

•Paper ballots, audits, and security improvements recommended by the National Academies and implemented by election officials help deter and detect problems. Continued auditing and transparency are key to sustaining trust.[5]

If you want, tell me your state or the specific kind of fraud you’re concerned about (e.g., double voting, mail ballots), and I can pull the most relevant data and safeguards for that context.

Citations (5)

1brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
The Myth of Voter Fraud | Brennan Center for Justice
Backs: “The Brennan Center’s summaries of multiple studies and court records conclude fraud by voters is “vanishingly rare.””
evidence, article, points to no. Claim: Studies and court records find voter fraud, including noncitizen voting and impersonation, is very low incidence, 'vanishingly rare'.
2globalsecurity.orgEncyclopedias and reference
Joint Statement from Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council & the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive Committees
Backs: “DOJ leadership at the time also said they had not found evidence of widespread fraud that could have changed the outcome, and courts repeatedly rejected such claims.”
attribution, official document, points to no. Claim: Federal and state election officials said the 2020 election was the most secure in American history, with no evidence of widespread fraud.
3heritage.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Heritage Releases Updated Election Fraud Database, Featuring New Fraud Map | The Heritage Foundation
Backs: “Large compilations of proven cases exist, but the totals are small relative to hundreds of millions of ballots cast; even a right‑leaning database that tracks prosecutions lists on the order of thousands over many years, not evidence of pervasive national fraud.”
statistic, article, points to no. Claim: Even a right-leaning database of prosecutions lists only thousands of cases over many years, small relative to hundreds of millions of ballots.
4amazonaws.comLow provenance
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
Backs: “These are the exceptions that prove the rule and are usually detected and remedied.”
evidence, official document, neutral. Claim: Isolated absentee ballot schemes, such as North Carolina's 9th District in 2018, led to new elections and were detected and remedied.
5nationalacademies.orgAcademic
Read "Securing the Vote: Protecting American Democracy" at NAP.edu
Backs: “Continued auditing and transparency are key to sustaining trust.”
background, official document, neutral. Claim: Paper ballots, audits, and security improvements recommended by the National Academies help deter and detect election problems.