What methods do states use to prevent election fraud? (2020)

This article covers subjects specific to the 2020 general election. It has not been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
Click here for more information about our 2020 election coverage.

Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk

Use the buttons below to see Help Desk hubs for other years. 2022 »

Disputed results Presidential election lawsuits and recounts Post-election lawsuits

Frequently asked questions General questions Presidential election Processing/counting mail ballots Results and certification Disputing results • Officeholder transitions

Absentee/mail-in voting analysis Mail-in voting by state, 2016-2018 Mail-in rejection by state, 2016-2018 Uncalled races, 2018 When can states begin counting? Processing, counting, and challenging ballots

Voting in 2020 Absentee/mail-in voting • Early voting • Voter ID Poll opening and closing times Recount laws by state Recount margin requirements by state U.S. Supreme Court actions

Elections by state AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingSubmit

Election fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Election fraud can take place around in-person voting and absentee/mail-in voting. It can occur at different points of the election process, from registration to the tallying of ballots. Types of election fraud include ballot stuffing, voter registration fraud, absentee/mail-in ballot vote fraud, and using fraudulent signatures.

States attempt to address election fraud in a variety of ways. Each state has a chief official (usually the secretary of state) in charge of overseeing an elections department, which is tasked with maintaining voter registration rolls and carrying out the election. Each state also has a department, typically under the attorney general's office, tasked with investigating allegations of election fraud and enforcing the state's laws. The U.S. Department of Justice is responsible for investigating allegations of election fraud in federal elections.

Some broad methods that states use to prevent election fraud include: voter list maintenance, signature requirements, witness requirements, ballot collection laws, and voter identification laws. Those methods are explored below.

Voter list maintenance

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), maintaining accurate voter lists is one way that states try to prevent election fraud. NCSL says: "The goal of maintaining an accurate voter list is to ensure that eligible voters are able to cast a ballot, to keep track of who has voted to prevent anyone from voting twice and, by reducing inaccuracies, speed up the voter check-in process at polling places. Voter registration lists are the foundation of everything else in election administration."

Multistate solutions for addressing election fraud emerged over the past several election cycles. The Brennan Center for Justice created the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) with a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts in 2012. ERIC's stated goal is to "[use] a sophisticated and secure data-matching tool to improve the accuracy and efficiency of state voter registration systems." As of October 2020, 30 states and the District of Columbia participated in ERIC. ERIC was not the first interstate effort.

Former Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh created the Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program (Crosscheck) in 2005 along with partner states Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska. The program expanded from 13 states in 2010 to 29 states in 2014 under former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. As part of a December 2019 lawsuit settlement with the ACLU of Kansas, Crosscheck indefinitely suspended operations.

The map below highlights states the members of ERIC as of October 2020.

Signature requirements

See also: Absentee/mail-in voting signature and witness requirements, 2020

All 50 states require a valid signature for an absentee/mail-in ballot to be counted. According to The New York Times, more than half of states use the signature to verify the voter's identity by matching it with one already on file, from sources like a voter registration application or driver's license. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia use signature matching and allow voters to fix mismatches, while four states use signature matching but do not allow voters to fix mismatches. Eighteen states either do not have matching laws or do have a law but do not conduct signature matching as a regular practice.

Amber McReynolds, CEO of the National Vote at Home Institute, told The New York Times that signature matching "is the best way to strike a balance between security, transparency, and accessibility for voters" when done properly, including a process to fix signature mismatches. Mark Gaber, the director of trial litigation at the Campaign Legal Center, said that signature matching was a problematic system and that "[c]ourts have found that there's a high risk of wrongly being identified as not having signed your ballot."

The map below details the states that use signature matching and allow for fixing mismatches, those that use signature matching and do not allow for fixing mismatches, and those that do not use signature matching.

Witness requirements

See also: Absentee/mail-in voting signature and witness requirements, 2020

A witness requirement is a rule requiring a voter to have another individual witness the voter filling out his or her ballot and attesting that the person filling out the ballot is the voter to whom the ballot is registered. States with such a requirement may require that the witness be a notary, while others allow any citizen to act as a witness for this purpose. Seven states have a witness requirement for absentee/mail-in ballots, with one of those states requiring that the witness be a notary. The map below highlights states with a witness requirement, and whether the state requires a notary to be the witness.

Advocates for witness requirements say that the process prevents fraud by holding others (the witness) accountable for the authenticity of the voter. Prior to voting in favor of witness requirement, Oklahoma state Rep. Chris Kannady (R) said, "The worse thing that you can do is fraudulently vote . . . and this is the way we prevent that from happening." Opponents of such requirements say that the rule complicates the voting process for the elderly, those who live alone, and individuals with disabilities or chronic health problems. U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) said, "I live alone and I actually went outside and waited for the first person I saw walking their dog and asked if they could stop for a moment and be my witness. Imagine living in a rural community and living alone where that wouldn’t an option. Or living alone and being afraid to let someone in because we’re in a pandemic."

Ballot collection laws

See also: Ballot harvesting (ballot collection) laws by state

Most states have laws permitting someone besides a voter to return the voter's absentee/mail-in ballot. These laws vary by state. As of August 2020, 24 states and the District of Columbia permitted someone chosen by the voter to return mail ballots on their behalf in most cases. Twelve states specified who may return ballots (i.e., household members, caregivers, and/or family members) in most cases. One state explicitly allowed only the voter to return his or her ballot. Thirteen states did not specify whether someone may return another's ballot.

Twelve states have a limit on the number of ballots one individual may collect and return. Wendy Underhill, director of the elections and redistricting program for NCSL, said that from a voter's perspective, "[ballot collection] may be taken as a kindness if someone offers to mail in or drop off a voted ballot." NCSL also says, however, that such a limit on the number of ballots on individual may return "are based on the concern that saving people the task of returning their ballot can bleed into encouraging them to vote a certain way."

The following map provides a summary of who was permitted to collect and return mail ballots by state as of August 2020.

Voter identification laws

See also: Voter identification laws by state

Voter identification laws require voters to present some form of identification at the polls. In some cases, the required identification must include a photo. As of October 2020, 34 states enforced voter identification requirements. A total of 18 states required voters to present photo identification; the remainder accepted other forms of identification. The map below highlights states with voter identification laws at the time of the November 2020 general election.

Proponents of voter identification laws argue that requiring voter identification prevents voter fraud, that voter identification laws do not decrease minority voter turnout, and that requiring identification to vote is not burdensome. Opponents of voter identification laws argue that voter identification laws are a burden for many voters, that voter identification laws target minorities, and that in-person voter fraud is rare. To read more about arguments for and against voter identification laws, click here.

Next question: What happens if someone votes by mail and then tries to vote in person?

The 2020 election took place against a backdrop of uncertainty. Our readers had questions about what to expect in elections at all levels of government, from the casting of ballots to the certification of final results. Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk was designed to answer those questions.

More frequently asked questions about the 2020 election

Click on a question below to read the answer:

• General election information
  • Who runs elections in the United States?
  • Why do states have different election rules?
  • What methods do states use to prevent election fraud?
  • Do you have to vote for everything on your ballot?
  • What happens if you mark outside the lines or use the wrong pen/pencil?
  • What is a spoiled ballot?
  • What is a write-in candidate?
  • How can I check the status of my ballot?
  • Can I take a ballot selfie?

• Presidential election
  • What happens if a presidential candidate declares victory in the 2020 election before results are final?
  • Can presidential candidates win the election if they have already conceded?
  • What are the steps and deadlines for electing the President of the United States?
  • What happens if there is a tie in the Electoral College?
  • What are faithless electors in the Electoral College?
  • What happens if a presidential nominee becomes incapacitated before the election?
  • Can members of Congress object to Electoral College results?

• Processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots
  • What is the life cycle of an absentee/mail-in ballot?
  • What happens if I vote by mail and want to change my ballot at a later date?
  • What happens if someone votes by mail and then tries to vote in person?
  • How do states protect and verify absentee/mail-in ballots?
  • How do election workers match signatures?
  • Are results reported on election night coming from in-person or absentee/mail-in votes?
  • Do states report how many mail-in/absentee ballots are outstanding on election night?
  • Do absentee/mail-in ballots take longer to count than in-person ballots?
  • What happens if someone votes by mail-in ballot or absentee ballot and subsequently passes away before Election Day?

• Disputing election results
  • How will election recounts work?
  • How close does an election have to be to trigger an automatic recount?
  • Can a candidate or voter request a recount?
  • Who pays for recounts and contested elections?
  • What are poll watchers?
  • What does it mean to challenge a voter's eligibility, and who can do it?
  • What is a redo election?
  • Who can file election-related lawsuits?
  • What are the reasons to call a redo election?
  • Who can call a redo election?
  • Can a redo be held for a presidential election?

• Election result reporting and certification
  • What happens if candidates declare victory in the 2020 election before results are final?
  • Can candidates win an election if they have already conceded?
  • How and when are election results finalized?
  • How do major media outlets declare winners?

• Transitions of power and taking office
  • Who is the president if election results are unknown by January 20, 2021?
  • Who serves in Congress if election results are unknown by January 2021?
  • Who serves in a state or local government if election results are unknown?
  • What happens if the winning presidential candidate becomes incapacitated before taking office?

• Articles about potential scenarios in the 2020 election
• U.S. Supreme Court actions affecting the November 3, 2020, general election

See also

• Electoral fraud
• Voting in 2020

Related articles

• Michigan and 29 states use this technology against voter fraud — so should the other 20 - Michigan Advance, October 9, 2020
• How your state verifies the authenticity of your mail-in ballot - Business Insider, October 8, 2020
• States have checks in place to prevent voters from voting twice - Associated Press, August 26, 2020
• Explainer: Fraud is rare in U.S. mail-in voting. Here are the methods that prevent it - Reuters, July 7, 2020
• Voter List Accuracy - National Conference of State Legislatures, March 20, 2020