Numerous examples exist of voter fraud and corruption perpetrated by voting officials, although these incidents are rare and isolated. Cases have been reported in the US and internationally, ranging from ballot manipulation and abuse of office to more organized schemes involving bribery and intimidation.
US cases of official misconduct
Recent and historical examples of voter fraud and corruption by US election officials and their co-conspirators include:
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2022): Kimberly Zapata, the former Deputy Director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, was charged with felony misconduct for requesting fraudulent military absentee ballots and sending them to a state legislator.
- Frio County, Texas (2025): Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced felony indictments against several local officials for "vote harvesting," a practice that involves illegally collecting and submitting other people's absentee ballots. The officials included Pearsall City Council members and a school board trustee.
- Amite City, Louisiana (2022): The former Police Chief, Jerry Trabona, and a City Council member, Kristian Hart, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to pay and offer payments to voters in the 2016 and 2020 federal elections.
- Coffee County, Georgia (2023): As part of the indictment against Donald Trump and his allies, charges were brought against Coffee County elections supervisor Misty Hampton and others related to a breach of voting machines after the 2020 election.
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2020): Former US Congressman Michael "Ozzie" Myers and a Judge of Elections, Domenick J. Demuro, were charged with conspiring to fraudulently stuff ballot boxes for specific candidates in multiple elections between 2014 and 2016.
- Greene County, Alabama (1994): Following an absentee ballot fraud investigation, multiple county commissioners, officials, and community leaders pleaded guilty or were found guilty of using an "assembly line" to mass-produce forged absentee ballots.