Despite what some politicians say, voter fraud is exceptionally rare in Nevada

There has never been any evidence of widespread voter fraud in any election in Nevada. Even The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, shows just four criminal convictions for election fraud in Nevada since 2016. 

While allegations of US election fraud are repeatedly proven baseless, a recent Marist Poll shows that more than half of Americans (58%) are either very concerned or concerned that voter fraud will occur during this year’s Presidential election.

That figure is driven largely by the 86% of Republicans who are concerned about voter fraud, compared to only 55% of independents and 33% of Democrats. The growing Republican distrust in elections comes in the aftermath of years of lies, conspiracies, and false claims of voter fraud following the 2020 presidential election.

Trump, who lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden and tried to overturn his defeat with baseless claims of fraud, has for months been laying the groundwork to challenge a potential 2024 defeat, as well – once again, without any evidence.

Despite what Trump and some Republicans say,  the fact is that voter fraud in the US – from alleged noncitizen voting to mail-in voter fraud – is exceedingly rare and does not occur at a scale to tip an election. It’s more likely that an American “will be struck by lightning than that he will impersonate another voter at the polls,” according to The Truth About Voter Fraud by the Brennan Center for Justice.

Nationwide studies, including one commissioned by the Trump administration, found no fraud in the 2020 election. Over 60 lawsuits brought by Donald Trump and his allies after the 2020 election were dismissed by state and federal judges — including some appointed by the former president.

As for the Silver State, there has never been any evidence of widespread voter fraud in any election, Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar said in a press release. Since the 2020 election, however, his office has seen “a major increase in questions about election fraud and integrity.”

In most cases, there was no actual violation of election law.

Aguilar attributes the increase in distrust to a lack of understanding of the law as well as attempts to overwhelm the Secretary of State’s office with unfounded allegations during an election cycle. 

“Regardless, we take every allegation seriously and investigate them to the full extent of the law,” he says.

In April, Aguilar’s office released its first report on investigations into potential election violations. Reports will be released quarterly in order to increase transparency with the public and increase confidence in Nevada’s safe and secure elections.

Among the findings in the state’s 2020-2024 report:

• Only 14 election fraud cases have been referred for possible prosecution since 2020. This includes nine cases from 2020 and five from 2022.
• In 2022, 146 “double vote” cases were investigated by the Secretary of State’s Office (instances in which two votes were cast by one voter, which is a felony in Nevada). This represents 0.0001% of the more than one million ballots cast in the 2022 general election in Nevada.
• Three of the cases the office investigated were referred for prosecution to the state Attorney General’s Office; 44 were referred for further investigation to the state Department of Public Safety’s Investigation Division; and 29 were investigated by the Secretary of State’s criminal investigations team but were closed by the office without further action.
• Six cases were investigated from the 2024 presidential primary in February. Two remain open investigations in the Secretary of State’s Office and four were closed without violation.
• Nevada’s Secretary of State Office has received 100 Election Integrity Violation Reports since 2023, with 33 cases still open, 67 cases closed with no violation, and zero violations found.

Despite the fact that Trump and some Republicans continue to spread claims of voter fraud, a Voter Fraud Map published by The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, shows just four criminal convictions for election fraud in Nevada since 2016. These include:

• 2021: Donald “Kirk” Hartle for duplicate voting and fraudulent use of absentee ballots
• 2021: Craig Frank for duplicate voting
• 2017: Renaldo Johnson for ballot petition fraud
• 2016: Tina Marie Parks for false registrations

While the Heritage Foundation’s database shows about 1,500 proven cases of voter fraud throughout the US over decades, it’s important to remember that this was out of billions of votes cast. 

Despite all of this and despite having no evidence, the Trump campaign and the GOP continue to file lawsuits and spread unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in US elections, laying the groundwork to challenge the results of the 2024 election.

Aguilar is undeterred, however, and has spent the year working to reassure Nevada voters of the security and validity of Nevada’s elections.

“Nevada runs some of the most secure, accessible, and transparent elections in the country,” he said in a press release. “We’re dedicated to ensuring voters are confident in that.”