Trump says US voter fraud is 'rampant'

With the November 3 midterms approaching, President Donald Trump is promising $1m to anyone whose tip about voter fraud ends in a conviction, while describing cheating by mail and by non-citizens as rampant. BBC Verify examined the evidence and found that the documented cases are extremely scarce.

Trump has long said mail balloting invites widespread fraud, even as he urges Republicans to use it this year. Congress has not passed his bill limiting mail voting to people who are disabled, ill, in the military, or traveling. His executive order restricting ballot delivery and standardizing envelopes was blocked by the Supreme Court, which called such late changes "arbitrary and capricious" but left room to revisit the matter after the elections. About 48 million Americans voted by mail in 2024.

Research points the other way. Brookings found about four fraudulent mail ballots per 10 million cast in four recent elections. Heritage Foundation records show 24 non-citizen voting convictions from 2005 to 2025, and Reuters counted 73 convictions among 129 federal prosecutions over three decades.

Trump also backs the SAVE America Act, requiring photo ID and proof of citizenship. The Brennan Center estimates 21.3 million adult citizens lack ready access to citizenship documents.

Summarized by PolitiKool from BBC’s reporting. Read the full story at BBC →