Cases of electoral fraud are rare.
Posted by Americast, Checked
- Sources
- 7 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 90%
AmericastSep 16, 2026
… But will Donald Trump find a different way to get around the ruling before this November’s midterm elections? Back in March, the president signed an executive order that ended the right for all US citizens to vote by email. He’s long argued that the move would help combat electoral fraud, despite cases of fraud being rare. The court’s decision is not, however, the end of the story and the Trump administration may return to the case with a renewed effort to block mail-in ballots ahead of the 2028 presidential election. …
As extracted, the claim that electoral fraud cases are rare is supported by numerous tier1 and tier2 sources (AP, Reuters, Brookings, BBC, FactCheck.org, PolitiFact, The Hill, NPR) that consistently find documented fraud is exceedingly rare, with the AP finding fewer than 475 potentially fraudulent ballots across six battleground states in 2020.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What we found
Supports. AP reviewed every potential fraud case across six battleground states contested by Trump and found fewer than 475 ballots came back as potentially fraudulent.[1][2]
Supports. Brookings analysis of Heritage Foundation data found only 39 fraud cases in Pennsylvania across 32 elections with over 100 million votes, and no election outcome has ever been altered by ballot fraud.[4][5]
Supports. BBC and Brookings found postal vote fraud averages about four cases per 10 million postal votes, and studies describe it as extremely rare.[6]
Supports. NPR's Brennan Center expert states research has consistently found voter fraud is infinitesimally rare and almost never affects election outcomes.[7]
Supports. A 2026 Snopes review finds studies show dead-voter fraud is too small to sway election results, though some instances occur.[3]
Contradicts. No source states that electoral fraud cases are common or widespread; the only dissent is from the claimant's side, which is not evidence.
Context. Fraud is not zero: 2026 Washington Post reporting describes 180 noncitizen voter-fraud cases charged by Trump officials, which is consistent with rare but existing cases.[8]
Sources
8 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 2 tier 1, 2 tier 2
- 1Voter fraud in the US: It's rare, there are safeguards to catch itapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Fact Check: Re-examining how and why voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the U.S. ahead of the 2022 midtermsreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Has voting by dead people ever swayed US elections?snopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 4How widespread is election fraud in the United States? Not verybrookings.edu · primary source · cited for: supports
- 5Election fraud rare in US elections, despite persistent claims otherwisethehill.com · tier 1 · cited for: supports
- 6Trump says US voter fraud is 'rampant' - evidence suggests it is extremely rarebbc.com · tier 1 · cited for: supports
- 7How we know voter fraud is very rare in U.S. electionsnpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 8We studied 180 voter-fraud cases. Many charged cite honest ...washingtonpost.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post