Is voter fraud a problem in the US?

Based on extensive research, court rulings, government audits, and academic studies, voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the United States and is not a widespread or systemic problem.

However, it remains a highly prominent and polarizing political issue. To understand why, it is helpful to look at what the empirical data shows, how the U.S. election system is secured, and the political arguments surrounding the topic.

1. What the Empirical Data Shows

Multiple independent, nonpartisan, and even conservative studies have consistently concluded that voter fraud occurs at microscopic rates in U.S. elections:

•The Heritage Foundation Database: The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, maintains a database to track proven cases of election fraud. Over a span of roughly 40 years, the database documents fewer than 1,500 proven cases of voter fraud across the entire country—representing a tiny fraction of a percent of the hundreds of millions of ballots cast during that period. An analysis of this data by the Brookings Institution showed that in key states, the percentage of fraudulent votes is minuscule (for example, just 36 cases out of over 42 million ballots cast in Arizona over 25 years, or 0.0000845%).

•The 2020 Election Investigations: Following the 2020 presidential election, the Associated Press conducted an exhaustive review of potential voter fraud in six battleground states. Out of more than 25 million votes cast, they found fewer than 475 potential cases of fraud, none of which would have altered the outcome of the election. Furthermore, over 60 lawsuits challenging the 2020 election results were dismissed by state and federal courts, including by judges appointed by both political parties, due to a lack of evidence.

•Mail-In Ballot Fraud: While critics often express concern over mail-in or absentee ballots, studies show fraud in this category is also extremely rare. A study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Election Data and Science Lab found that mail-in ballot fraud is "exceedingly rare," occurring at a rate of roughly 0.00006 percent of individual votes nationally.

•Noncitizen Voting: Noncitizens are legally prohibited from voting in federal elections. While political debate has centered heavily on this issue, actual cases are vanishingly rare. A Brennan Center for Justice study of 42 jurisdictions in the 2016 election found only 30 suspected cases of noncitizen voting out of 23.5 million votes cast (0.0001%). When states review their voter rolls, they occasionally find administrative errors (such as DMV software issues registering eligible legal residents who are not yet citizens), but actual ballots cast by noncitizens are almost nonexistent.

2. Why is Voter Fraud So Rare?

The United States has several layers of structural and administrative safeguards that make widespread voter fraud incredibly difficult to execute and easy to detect:

•Decentralization: There is no single, centralized U.S. election system. Elections are run locally by thousands of individual counties and jurisdictions, each with their own procedures, machines, and security protocols. Rigging a national or even a state-level election would require a massive, highly coordinated conspiracy across hundreds of jurisdictions without leaving a trace—which experts agree is practically impossible.

•Paper Trails and Audits: The vast majority of American voters use paper ballots or voting machines that generate a voter-verified paper audit trail. This allows election officials to conduct hand recounts and post-election audits to verify that computer tallies are accurate.

•Severe Penalties: Voting fraudulently is a felony under both federal and state laws. It carries severe penalties, including heavy fines, loss of citizenship/deportation for noncitizens, and years of prison time. Because an individual vote has an incredibly small chance of deciding an election, the risk-to-reward ratio for individual voters to commit fraud is extremely high.

3. The Political Debate: Integrity vs. Access

If voter fraud is statistically rare, why does it remain such a contentious issue? The debate generally splits into two philosophical viewpoints:

•The Argument for Stricter Voting Laws (The "Election Integrity" View):

Proponents of this view, primarily Republicans, argue that even a single fraudulent vote undermines the democratic process. They argue that voting systems must be proactive, secure, and beyond reproach to maintain public trust. This perspective drives support for policies such as strict government-issued photo ID requirements, limitations on mail-in voting, regular purging of inactive voters from registration rolls, and requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register.

•The Argument for Broader Access (The "Voter Suppression" View):

Opponents of stricter laws, primarily Democrats and voting rights advocates, argue that because fraud is virtually nonexistent, strict measures are a "solution in search of a problem". They argue these laws are politically motivated and act as voter suppression. Under this view, rules like strict ID requirements or purging voter rolls disproportionately harm low-income, minority, elderly, and student voters, who are less likely to possess specific forms of identification or the resources to obtain them.

Summary

While isolated incidents of voter fraud do occur (and are prosecuted when found), there is no evidence of widespread, systemic voter fraud in the United States. However, the tension between making voting as secure as possible and making it as accessible as possible ensures that the issue remains a central battleground in American politics.

Citations (6)

1sciline.orgNonprofits and think tanks
sciline.org
Backs: “Based on extensive research, court rulings, government audits, and academic studies, voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the United States and is not a widespread or systemic problem.”
2wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
wikipedia.org
Backs: “Based on extensive research, court rulings, government audits, and academic studies, voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the United States and is not a widespread or systemic problem.”
3brookings.eduNonprofits and think tanks
brookings.edu
Backs: “An analysis of this data by the Brookings Institution showed that in key states, the percentage of fraudulent votes is minuscule (for example, just 36 cases out of over 42 million ballots cast in Arizona over 25 years, or 0.0000845%). The 2020 Election Investigations: Following the 2020 presidential election, the…”
4americanbar.orgNonprofits and think tanks
americanbar.org
Backs: “The 2020 Election Investigations: Following the 2020 presidential election, the Associated Press conducted an exhaustive review of potential voter fraud in six battleground states. Out of more than 25 million votes cast, they found fewer than 475 potential cases of fraud, none of which would have altered the outcome…”
5projectvote.orgNonprofits and think tanks
projectvote.org
Backs: “Rigging a national or even a state-level election would require a massive, highly coordinated conspiracy across hundreds of jurisdictions without leaving a trace—which experts agree is practically impossible. Paper Trails and Audits: The vast majority of American voters use paper ballots or voting machines that…”
6brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
brennancenter.org
Backs: “They argue that voting systems must be proactive, secure, and beyond reproach to maintain public trust. This perspective drives support for policies such as strict government-issued photo ID requirements, limitations on mail-in voting, regular purging of inactive voters from registration rolls, and requiring…”