Is voter fraud a problem in the US?

Is U.S. voter fraud a real problem? I'll pull the latest evidence and data to give you a clear answer.

In the United States, voter fraud exists, but extensive investigations and academic research consistently find it is rare and not at a scale that routinely affects outcomes of major elections.

What is counted as voter fraud?

Voter fraud, sometimes called electoral fraud or election fraud, includes types such as:

•voter impersonation or in-person voter fraud

•absentee ballot fraud

•illegal voting by noncitizens

•and double voting

The federal definition also includes a voter intentionally giving false information when registering, receiving something of value in exchange for voting, voting more than once, or an election official corrupting his office

Other categories cited include false registrations, duplicate voting, and fraudulent use of absentee ballots such as requesting ballots without knowledge of the actual voter or forging a signature

What does the evidence show?

The available evidence does not support the claim that widespread voter fraud is a serious problem in the United States. Individual cases do occur and should be investigated and prosecuted, but extensive audits, investigations and academic research have consistently found such cases to be rare and have not demonstrated widespread fraud occurring at a scale that routinely affects election outcomes

Empirical evidence across decades and multiple methodologies leads to one clear, repeatable conclusion: proven voter fraud is extremely rare relative to the number of votes cast — measured in orders of magnitude of 0.0000X percent — and no rigorous body of research has shown fraud at the scale necessary to flip major U.S. elections

Specific findings:

•Brennan Center for Justice review: The Brennan Center's seminal report The Truth About Voter Fraud found that most reported incidents are traceable to other sources, such as clerical errors or bad data matching, and found incident rates between 0.0003 percent and 0.0025 percent. The report noted it is more likely an American will be struck by lightning than that he will impersonate another voter at the polls. Other summaries put the rate at between 0.0003% and 0.0025% based on decades of data.

•Comprehensive ballot studies: A comprehensive 2014 study found 31 credible instances of impersonation fraud from 2000 to 2014, out of more than 1 billion ballots cast. Arizona State University projects found 10 cases of voter impersonation fraud nationwide from 2000–2012 and zero successful prosecutions for impersonation fraud in five states from 2012–2016.

•Court findings: Courts have reached similar conclusions. The Fifth Circuit noted there were "only two convictions for in-person voter impersonation fraud out of 20 million votes cast in the decade" before Texas passed its photo ID law, and the Fourth Circuit noted North Carolina "failed to identify even a single individual who has ever been charged with committing in-person voter fraud in North Carolina".

•Government investigations: A Department of Justice unit formed to find instances of federal election fraud examined the 2002 and 2004 federal elections and were able to prove that 0.00000013 percent of ballots cast were fraudulent. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach's review of 84 million votes cast in 22 states yielded 14 instances referred for prosecution, which amounts to a 0.000017 percent fraud rate.

•2020 election reviews: The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and state/local election officials jointly declared the 2020 contest "the most secure in American history". The Associated Press examined every potential fraud case in six most-contested swing states and found fewer than 475 — nowhere near enough to change outcomes out of roughly 25.5 million ballots cast, and also described as fewer than 475 instances far too few to affect the outcome.

How many proven cases are documented?

The Heritage Foundation's Election Fraud Database is the most-cited public compilation. It lists roughly 1,561 "proven instances" yielding about 1,325 convictions across its time window, or in other summaries approximately 1,465 proven cases over roughly 44 years — on the order of 30-40 proven cases per year on average.

Other summaries describe roughly 1,561 instances that produced about 1,325 convictions across many decades, and Heritage itself describes the database as presenting just a sampling and not an exhaustive list.

Measured by prosecutions, convictions and sustained findings, proven voter-fraud cases number in the low thousands across many decades, translating to only a handful per year and an almost negligible share of total votes; multiple independent scholars summarize that in-person voter impersonation and large-scale fraud are exceedingly rare and have not altered modern federal election outcomes.

Heritage argues its data shows voter fraud is a "real and pressing issue", while the Brennan Center, academic researchers, and investigations by the Associated Press, Government Accountability Office and others conclude rates are infinitesimal and impersonation fraud is the rarest form — only 10 cases alleged in 12 years in one exhaustive review.

Why is there disagreement over whether it is a "problem"?

•Rare vs. never: Research summaries portray voter fraud prosecutions as rare but not nonexistent. Brookings cited only 20 cases brought in 2024.

•Scale and type: The handful of documented offenses tend to be straightforward, local crimes — double voting, voting on behalf of deceased persons, or mismatched absentee ballots — rather than systemic manipulation of machines or mass noncitizen voting.

•Perception vs. evidence: There is no evidence for widespread voter fraud in U.S. elections, including in recent national elections, and reporting projects warn that rhetoric about "widespread" fraud outpaces empirical evidence.

•Policy debate: Some advocates for stricter voting rules cite the Heritage database and argue fraud is under-detected, while civil-rights groups and academic centers stress contextualized rates and the risk that restrictive reforms produce voter suppression.

Conclusion

The consensus from credible research and investigation is that the rate of illegal voting is extremely rare, and the incidence of certain types of fraud – such as impersonating another voter – is virtually nonexistent—underscoring that voter fraud is not a widespread problem.

This does not mean fraud never happens. Documented cases — including duplicate voting, absentee ballot fraud, and ineligible voting — do occur and are prosecuted, but studies consistently find few instances of in-person voter fraud and that such fraud simply could not and does not happen at the rate even approaching that which would be required to "rig" an election.

Election security officials and researchers generally recommend focusing on safeguards that protect against demonstrated risks — such as securing voter registration systems, auditing paper records, and ensuring accurate counting — rather than measures based on unsupported claims of widespread fraud.

Citations (1)

1brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth
Backs: “Empirical evidence across decades and multiple methodologies leads to one clear, repeatable conclusion: proven voter fraud is extremely rare relative to the number of votes cast — measured in orders of magnitude of 0.0000X percent — and no rigorous body of research has shown fraud at the scale necessary to flip major…”