election fraud

Election fraud refers to corrupt electoral practices that undermine the validity, reliability, and legitimacy of election outcomes. These abuses can include tampering with voting machinery, stuffing ballot boxes, dishonest vote counting or reporting, and incumbent officeholders disregarding election results. Disinformation, which involves spreading false narratives, can significantly impact elections by eroding trust in the electoral process and influencing public opinion and voter behavior.12

While concerns about widespread voter fraud, particularly with mail-in voting, have persisted historically, research indicates that such fraud is extremely rare. Electronic voting systems, especially those with voter-verified paper audit trails, are considered secure methods that protect against hacking and facilitate manual recounts. Even when vulnerabilities are discovered in electronic voting machines, investigations have generally found no evidence that these have been exploited to affect election results. Maintaining election integrity relies on robust procedures, up-to-date voter registration, secure polling stations, and transparent vote counting processes.341