Op-ed: The myth of voter fraud
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Claims of widespread voter fraud are unsupported by evidence and can be used to erode public confidence in elections. Safe voting practices are securely in place in Ohio and West Virginia. Our election systems are protected by multiple safeguards. Voter fraud is extremely rare.
According to American Bar Association Sept. 2026, of the more than 25 million votes cast in six swing states in the 2020 election, an analysis by the Associated Press found fewer than 475 potential voter fraud cases, and even those cases were unconfirmed.
Non-citizen voting in federal elections is extremely rare. Americans in all states must produce a document like a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers to register to vote.
According to The Brennan Center for Justice, 2017, after reviewing elections that had been meticulously studied for voter fraud, it found incident rates between 0.0003% and 0.0025%. Given this tiny incident rate for voter impersonation fraud, it is more likely that an American "will be struck by lightning than he will impersonate another voter at the polls."
One reason for the low incident of fraud is our dependence on local jurisdictions to conduct elections rather than the federal government. Local districts--over 10,000 of them--register voters, design ballots, arrange polling places, and count votes (Government Accountability Office).
This decentralized structure is a critical safeguard. Despite repeated false claims of nationwide election rigging, decentralization makes such manipulation extraordinarily difficult. As the National Conference of State Legislatures explains: "The dispersed responsibility for running elections also makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to rig U.S. elections at the national level." (NCSL, 2025).
For example, in Arizona, only 36 cases were found out of over 42 million ballots cast across 25 years--less than 0.0001%. (Brookings Institute, 2024)
In both Ohio and West Virginia, the Secretary of States' offices outlined the precautions taken to ensure safe and fair voting. Each conducts a paper-based voting system, which in addition to machine tabulations, provides a physical record of each vote cast and allows for audits and recounts if necessary. This system is considered more secure than fully electronic systems.
Both train poll workers and demand IDs for registration and voting. Each of Ohio's 88 county Boards of Elections has 2 Republican and 2 Democratic officials appointed by each party and any handling of any election materials must be done by representatives of each party. The same is true for all poll workers. Every voter must show a valid ID and be registered in the system. No voting machine is connected to the internet and each machine has been certified by both parties and sealed and stored behind locked doors until election. Both states safely store voting equipment and ballots. Voting systems are all locked with tamper-evident seals and stored behind double-locked doors that may only be accessed when unlocked together by Republican and Democratic election officials.
Throughout the election, boards of elections reconcile voter lists and ensure no voters were counted twice.
Both states conduct post-election audits. A post-election audit is a comprehensive review of results to verify that the election was accurate. Prior to an election, county boards of elections are required to conduct a full battery of tests called logic and accuracy (L&A) testing on all voting equipment. After each election, a bipartisan team of Republicans and Democrats from county boards of elections compare the tabulated results to the hardcopy paper ballots to ensure fidelity between the two.
As technologies change, voting safety must accommodate safeguards to prevent any change in allowing each vote to be counted. While voter fraud is not common, being vigilant of protection laws and voter procedures is the best method of keeping voting safe.
Vote early or vote on Election Day, Nov. 3. It is safe and secure because the Constitution gives the right and responsibility to conduct elections to each state.
Joy Cowdery, member of Living Democracy: Engaging Citizens, a local citizen group. Our mission is to inform and educate the Mid-Ohio Valley about how government works on the local, state, and federal levels and how citizens can be involved to make our democracy work. Join us the third Monday of each month. livingdemocracymov@gmail.com and facebook/living democracy: engaging citizens and Youtube channel Living Democracy