The Facts

How Long Has Election Fraud Been a Problem?

Mar 25, 2026 4 min read

Election Fraud Has Long Been A Problem

The U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in 2008 that “flagrant examples” of fraud “have been documented throughout this Nation’s history by respected historians and journalists.” This fraud, as the Court further observed, “demonstrate[s] that not only is the risk of voter fraud real but that it could affect the outcome of a close election.” ¹³

1844. Such wrongdoing is not a modern invention. New York City’s infamous political machine, Tammany Hall, was synonymous with election fraud—in one election in 1844, 55,000 votes were recorded even though there were only 41,000 eligible voters.4 Those early traditions of fraud have just grown more inventive. 1904. The 1904 Colorado gubernatorial election was tainted by intense corruption. Democrat Alva Adams was declared the winner with 123,092 votes (50.64%) to Republican James H. Peabody’s 113,754 (46.80%). In Denver, voters cast multiple ballots, using disguises and voting in the name of deceased voters, for Adams.5 Mine owners threatened to fire their employees unless they voted for Peabody.6 Peabody contested the outcome, prompting a legislative investigation that heard from more than 2,000 witnesses over several months. As a result of widespread fraud, neither side could credibly claim that the result was legitimate. The legislature ended up striking a compromise, which resulted in Lieutenant Governor Jesse McDonald assuming the office.7

1948 and 1962. Two future Presidents’ early encounters with fraud may have changed the history of the nation. In 1948, Lyndon B. Johnson won his Democratic primary runoff election for the U.S. Senate by 87 votes after more than 200 fraudulent votes were inserted in the notorious “Ballot Box 13” by the local political machine in Jim Wells County, Texas, to ensure that Johnson won the election.8. Jimmy Carter had to go to court to contest his loss in his first election, a Democratic primary for the Georgia Senate in 1962. A court declared Carter the winner because of voter fraud by another local political machine that had stolen his election.9. 1984. In 1984, a state grand jury report detailed a 14-year successful conspiracy in Brooklyn that resulted in thousands of fraudulent votes being cast through impersonation fraud and false registrations. The grand jury recommended that New York implement a voter ID requirement— something the state has never done.10

1997. In 1997, a Miami mayor’s race was overturned because fraud, including extensive absentee ballot fraud, was so pervasive that “the integrity of the election was adversely affected.” The Miami Herald won a Pulitzer Prize in 1999 for its in-depth investigation of this tainted election. 2008. In 2008, a congressional race in North Carolina’s Ninth District was overturned by the State Board of Election because of “overwhelming” evidence of absentee ballot fraud that “tainted” the results. 2022. In 2022, a former Congressman and political consultant pleaded guilty to bribing poll managers in Philadelphia to manufacture fraudulent ballots in multiple elections for multiple candidates who were his clients.11

Election Vulnerabilities by the Numbers

In a review of voter registration lists and voter histories in the 2016 and 2018 elections from 42 states, the Public Interest Legal Foundation found more than 144,000 cases of potential election fraud¹³, including:

34,000 votes cast in the names of individuals who were registered at nonresidential addresses, including vacant lots, city parks, and basketball courts. More than 95,000 individuals who voted twice because they were registered twice either in the same state or in different states. Almost 15,000 votes cast in the names of voters who were actually deceased.
A review of state voter registration list by the Pew Center on the States in 2012 found:

24 million registrations (nearly 1 in 8). 1.8 million registered voters are dead.12 2.8 million people are registered in two or more states. are inaccurate, out-of-date, or duplicates.

ENDNOTES:

3. Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, 553 U.S. 181, 195–196 (2008), https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep553/usrep553181/usrep553181.pdf (accessed July 24, 2025).

4. Tracy Campbell, Deliver the Vote: A History of Election Fraud, An American Political Tradition—1742–2004 (New York: Carroll & Graf, 2005), p. 20.

5. Ashley Zimmerman, “Verifiable Oddities in Colorado’s History,” Colorado General Assembly, Office of Legislative Legal Services, Colorado LegiSource, https://legisource.net/2011/09/22/verifiable-oddities-in-colorados-history (accessed July 24, 2025).

6. Colorado State Archives, “Alva Adams,” https://archives.colorado.gov/collections/governors/alva-adams (accessed July 24, 2025).

7. Amy Zimmer, “Three Governors in One Day,” Colorado Virtual Library, Resource Sharing, Colorado State Publications Blog, November 6, 2006, https://www.coloradovirtuallibrary.org/resource-sharing/state-pubsblog/three-governors-in-one-day/ (accessed July 24, 2025).

8. James W. Mangan, “AP Was There: Uncovering Lyndon B. Johnson’s Stolen Election,” Associated Press, March 31, 2023, https://apnews.com/article/lbj-stolen-election-box-13-mangan-c818e478ec509c65585d3094bda69f96 (accessed July 24, 2025).

9. James Wooten, Dasher: The Roots and the Rising of Jimmy Carter (New York: Warner Books, 1979), p. 242- 251.

10. In the Matter of Confidential Investigation R84-11, Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Kings: Criminal Term, 1984, https://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/1984_grand_jury_re

11. Press release, “Former U.S. Congressman and Philadelphia Political Operative Pleads Guilty to Election Fraud Charges,” U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, June 6, 2022, https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/former-us-congressman-and-philadelphia-political-operative-pleads-guilty-election-fraud (accessed July 24, 2025)

12. Pew Center on the States, “Inaccurate, Costly, and Inefficient: Evidence That America’s Voter Registration System Needs an Upgrade,” Issue Brief, February 2012, https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2012/pewupgradingvoterregistrationpdf.pdf (accessed July 24, 2025).

13. Public Interest Legal Foundation, Critical Condition: American Voter Rolls Filled With Errors, Dead Voters, and Duplicate Registrations, September 2020, https://publicinterestlegal.org/pilf-files/Report-Critical_Condition-Web-FINAL-FINAL.pdf (accessed July 24, 2025).