2020 US election fraud
Claims that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was stolen through widespread fraud have been rejected by more than 60 courts, election officials of both parties, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and independent audits including one commissioned by Republicans in Arizona.
What we know
The 2020 U.S. presidential election was subjected to extraordinary post-election scrutiny. More than 60 lawsuits challenging the results were filed in state and federal courts across the country. Nearly all were dismissed or rejected — by judges appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents — due to insufficient or non-credible evidence of fraud sufficient to change the outcome.
CISA, the nation's election security agency, issued a formal statement on November 12, 2020, signed jointly with election officials' organizations stating: 'The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.' CISA Director Chris Krebs, appointed by President Trump, made this statement and was subsequently fired for it. Attorney General William Barr, also appointed by President Trump, stated in December 2020 that the DOJ found no evidence of fraud sufficient to change the election outcome.
Georgia conducted a full hand recount of nearly 5 million ballots, confirming President Biden's margin of victory. Arizona's Maricopa County underwent multiple audits, including a Republican-commissioned review by the firm Cyber Ninjas, which ultimately confirmed Biden's win. A 2021 joint report by the DOJ and DHS found no evidence of foreign government interference with vote tallies.
A 2021 statistical analysis published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined all major statistical claims of fraud and found each either was not inconsistent with a free and fair election or was based on analytical errors. Individual cases of voter fraud in 2020 — including some by Republican voters — were prosecuted, but were isolated incidents that would not have changed the outcome of any race.
Common claims
- Dominion voting machines changed votes from Trump to Biden.False — no evidence found by courts, audits, or intelligence agencies; Dominion successfully litigated defamation claims against prominent promoters of this claim.
- Statistical anomalies prove fraud in key states.False — PNAS peer-reviewed analysis found every claimed anomaly either reflected normal electoral dynamics or was based on analytical errors.
- Election officials certified fraudulent results.False — Republican secretaries of state in Arizona and Georgia certified results and defended their integrity.
- Courts refused to examine the evidence.False — more than 60 courts examined claims and dismissed them for lack of credible evidence.
Evidence hierarchy
All sources
- It's Official: The Election Was SecureBrennan Center for Justice · 2020
- Joint DOJ-DHS Statement on Foreign Interference AssessmentU.S. Department of Justice · 2021
- No Evidence for Systematic Voter Fraud: A Guide to Statistical Claims About the 2020 ElectionProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2021
- Beware of Novel Claims of 2020 Election FraudBrennan Center for Justice · 2026
- Results of Lawsuits Regarding the 2020 ElectionsCampaign Legal Center · 2021
- No Evidence for Systematic Voter Fraud (UChicago research summary)University of Chicago Social Sciences · 2021