Is voter fraud a problem in the US?

According to a broad consensus of election experts, academic researchers, and government audits, voter fraud in the United States is exceedingly rare and does not occur on a scale that could alter the outcome of federal or statewide elections.

However, the topic remains highly polarized. While empirical evidence shows that fraudulent voting is mathematically minuscule, the debate over how to secure election systems versus how to ensure broad voter access continues to shape U.S. politics.

What the Research Shows

Numerous studies conducted by universities, nonpartisan think tanks, and government agencies have consistently found negligible rates of voter fraud:

•Overall Prevalence: The Brennan Center for Justice analyzed multiple elections and found overall fraud incident rates to be between 0.0003% and 0.0025% of all votes cast. Statistically, a person is more likely to be struck by lightning than to impersonate another voter at the polls.

•In-Person Impersonation: A landmark 2014 study by election law professor Justin Levitt found only 31 credible instances of voter impersonation out of more than 1 billion ballots cast in the U.S. between 2000 and 2014.

•Mail-In Ballot Fraud: Research shows that while mail-in voting is slightly more vulnerable to abuse than in-person voting, fraud remains incredibly rare. A study by the MIT Election Data and Science Lab estimated the rate of mail-in ballot fraud to be about 0.00006% nationally. Similarly, the Brookings Institution analyzed elections from 2016 through 2022 and estimated about four cases of fraud for every 10 million mail ballots cast.

•Noncitizen Voting: Under federal and state laws, it is illegal for noncitizens to vote in state and federal elections. Extensive audits and studies have shown that noncitizen registration and voting is vanishingly rare. For example, a multi-year audit in Georgia of its 8.2 million registered voters found that only a handful of noncitizens had successfully registered, none of whom had successfully voted.

The Heritage Foundation Database

Proponents of stricter voting laws often point to a database of proven voter fraud cases maintained by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

As of late 2023, the database contained approximately 1,465 proven cases of voter fraud collected over more than 40 years. While proponents argue this database proves that fraud is a recurring issue, researchers who have analyzed the data note that it actually highlights how rare the phenomenon is when compared to the hundreds of millions of votes cast over those decades:

•In Texas, the database identified 103 confirmed cases of fraud between 2005 and 2022. During that time, 107 million ballots were cast, making the fraud rate 0.000096%.

•In Arizona, the database lists 36 cases over a 25-year period. Out of 42.6 million ballots cast, the percentage of fraudulent votes was 0.0000845%.

•In Pennsylvania, the database lists 39 cases over 30 years out of more than 100 million votes cast.

Administrative Errors vs. Intentional Fraud

Studies consistently find that many initial reports of "voter fraud" are actually the result of clerical mistakes, administrative errors, or voter confusion rather than deliberate manipulation.

•Clerical Typos: Election workers may accidentally type a name incorrectly or check off the wrong person on a register.

•Deceased Voters: Reports of "dead people voting" often turn out to be clerical errors (such as a son with the suffix "Jr." being confused with his deceased father, "Sr.") or instances where a voter cast an absentee ballot but passed away before Election Day.

•Confusing Laws: Some individuals with past felony convictions have mistakenly voted because they misunderstood their state's complex rules regarding the restoration of voting rights.

The Two Sides of the Political Debate

The debate over voter fraud in the U.S. generally boils down to a fundamental disagreement over priorities:

1.The "Election Integrity" Perspective:

•The Argument: Proponents of this view (primarily Republicans) argue that even if voter fraud is rare, any level of fraud undermines public trust in democracy. They believe that the voting system should be as secure as possible to prevent potential exploits.

•Proposed Solutions: This perspective supports policies such as strict photo ID requirements, routine maintenance (or "purges") of voter rolls, limiting the availability of mail-in ballots and drop boxes, and requiring proof of citizenship to register.

2.The "Voter Access" Perspective:

•The Argument: Opponents of these strict laws (primarily Democrats and voting rights organizations) argue that because fraud is virtually nonexistent, these restrictive laws are a "solution in search of a problem". They contend that these laws are politically motivated and designed to suppress voter turnout.

•The Impact: They point out that obtaining a government-issued photo ID or official citizenship documents requires time and money, which disproportionately burdens low-income, minority, elderly, and student voters. They argue that the harm of disenfranchising thousands of eligible voters far outweighs the benefit of stopping a handful of fraudulent votes.

Citations (7)

1usafacts.orgData and toolsquality 0.91
usafacts.org
Backs: “According to a broad consensus of election experts, academic researchers, and government audits, voter fraud in the United States is exceedingly rare and does not occur on a scale that could alter the outcome of federal or statewide elections.”
2sciline.orgNonprofits and think tanks
sciline.org
Backs: “According to a broad consensus of election experts, academic researchers, and government audits, voter fraud in the United States is exceedingly rare and does not occur on a scale that could alter the outcome of federal or statewide elections.”
3wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
wikipedia.org
Backs: “According to a broad consensus of election experts, academic researchers, and government audits, voter fraud in the United States is exceedingly rare and does not occur on a scale that could alter the outcome of federal or statewide elections.”
4brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
brennancenter.org
Backs: “While empirical evidence shows that fraudulent voting is mathematically minuscule, the debate over how to secure election systems versus how to ensure broad voter access continues to shape U.S. politics.”
5brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
brennancenter.org
Backs: “Overall Prevalence: The Brennan Center for Justice analyzed multiple elections and found overall fraud incident rates to be between 0.0003% and 0.0025% of all votes cast.”
6brookings.eduNonprofits and think tanks
brookings.edu
Backs: “While proponents argue this database proves that fraud is a recurring issue, researchers who have analyzed the data note that it actually highlights how rare the phenomenon is when compared to the hundreds of millions of votes cast over those decades:”
7brennancenter.orgNonprofits and think tanks
brennancenter.org
Backs: “Proposed Solutions: This perspective supports policies such as strict photo ID requirements, routine maintenance (or "purges") of voter rolls, limiting the availability of mail-in ballots and drop boxes, and requiring proof of citizenship to register.”