No state election chief, GOP or Democrat, found significant vote fraud. The New York Times asked.


President Trump isn't the only Republican making unsubstantiated claims about fraud and other irregularities in races Democrats won in the 2020 election. GOP state legislators have said they will audit elections and losing GOP candidates have tried to sow doubt about their losses and the election overall.
But "top election officials across the country said in interviews and statements that the process had been a remarkable success despite record turnout and the complications of a dangerous pandemic," and "there was no evidence that fraud or other irregularities played a role in the outcome of the presidential race," The New York Times reports.
Times reporters contacted the top election officials in all 50 states Monday and Tuesday — Democrat, Republican, or nonpartisan — and 45 responded. In the other five states, the Times found public statements from the secretary of state or spoke with other statewide officials. "None reported any major voting issues," the Times reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"There's a great human capacity for inventing things that aren't true about elections," Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) told the Times. "The conspiracy theories and rumors and all those things run rampant. For some reason, elections breed that type of mythology." Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon (D) said he doesn't "know of a single case where someone argued that a vote counted when it shouldn't have or didn't count when it should. There was no fraud."
Some states did find the kind of small and isolated problems, math errors, and illegal voting uncovered in all elections — "tens or dozens of people, not hundred," LaRose said — and "officials in all states are conducting their own review of the voting — a standard component of the certification process," the Times notes. But "Trump's attack on the election system this year has relied on either outright fabrication or gross exaggeration" of these scattered incidents, though not in states where "Trump and his fellow Republicans did well." Read more at The New York Times.
Editor's note: A previous version of this article misidentified Minnesota's secretary of state. It's been corrected. We regret the error.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Japan poised to get first woman prime minister
Speed Read The ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi
-
Israel and Hamas meet on hostages, Trump’s plan
Speed Read Hamas accepted the general terms of Trump’s 20-point plan, including the release of all remaining hostages
-
US tipped to help Kyiv strike Russian energy sites
Speed Read Trump has approved providing Ukraine with intelligence for missile strikes on Russian energy infrastructure
-
Netanyahu agrees to Trump’s new Gaza peace plan
Speed Read At President Trump's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they agreed upon a plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of Taiwan
In the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Moldova gives decisive win to pro-EU party
Speed Read The country is now on track to join the European Union within five years
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdown
IN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
UK, 3 Western allies recognize Palestinian state
Speed Read Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal formally recognized the state of Palestine