Historical Context: The 19th and Early 20th Centuries
During the 1800s and early 1900s, voter fraud was often systemic and significant, particularly in cities controlled by political machines.
- Political Machines: Organizations like New York City’s Tammany Hall were famous for “vote buying,” intimidation, and “ballot stuffing.” In an 1868 New York City election, an audit estimated that 25,000 out of 156,000 votes were fraudulent—enough to decide the race.
- Lack of the Secret Ballot: Before the late 19th century, many voters used party-printed ballots that were easily identifiable, making it simple for party “bosses” to ensure people voted as instructed or bribed.
- “The Dead Voting”: In some jurisdictions, machines would register names from tombstones or even list pets (horses, dogs) on voter rolls to inflate totals.
Modern Context: Late 20th Century to Present
Since the introduction of the secret ballot, modernized voter registration, and better auditing technology, widespread fraud has become extremely rare.
- Incident Rates: Most modern studies find fraud rates to be “infinitesimal.” For example, a 2014 study found only 31 credible instances of in-person voter impersonation out of more than 1 billion ballots cast between 2000 and 2014.+1
- Local vs. National: Most proven cases today are small-scale and occur in local races (e.g., city council or sheriff) where a handful of votes can actually make a difference.
- Recent Investigations: Despite high-profile allegations following the 2020 election, dozens of court cases and audits by both Republican and Democratic officials found no evidence of fraud on a scale that would have changed the result.
Types of Fraud Tracked Today
Organizations like the Heritage Foundation maintain databases of “proven” fraud. As of early 2026, their database lists approximately 1,600 cases over several decades. Common categories include:
- Absentee Ballot Fraud: The most common form of modern fraud, involving someone filling out or forging a mail-in ballot for another person.
- Duplicate Voting: An individual voting in two different jurisdictions (e.g., in two different states where they own property).
- In-person Impersonation: The rarest form, where someone pretends to be another registered voter at a polling place.
Why Is It So Rare Now?
Modern systems are designed to make “retail” fraud (individual people cheating) high-risk and low-reward. A single fraudulent vote carries a penalty of years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines, but has a statistically near-zero chance of affecting a major election.
If you were an illegal immigrant, would you risk apprehension to illegally vote for absolutely no benefit?
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Why do you mention illegal immigrants and voter fraud. That doesn’t seem to be an issue. Re
I miss the old days when the car trunks would be filled with half pints to pass out in certain precincts. This was primarily for the Governor race in the state I’m familiar with. The highway department guys would load up the day before and get their assignments of where to locate on Election Day. I knew some workers and could always grab a bottle or two the night before. It was cheap stuff but free.
I was a poll worker from 2008 through the 2012 elections and did see some eye brow raising methods of get out the vote. Nowadays the absentee ballot seems more of a problem.
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