Multiple sources find that ballots mailed to deceased registrants and fraudulently counted as votes are extremely rare — measured rates are near zero.
A 2024 paper on mail-in ballots in Washington state from 2011 to 2018 found 14 individuals’ ballots that “might have been cast suspiciously long after their death,” representing 0.0003% of voters, though it noted the cases were not necessarily fraud.
A Government Accountability Office review found similar numbers: Five fraudulent votes cast in Georgia in 2006, or 0.0002% of votes. Two cases of deceased voter fraud ended in criminal convictions in 43 years, from 1982 to 2025, according to conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation.
Votes seemingly cast under the names of deceased voters are often attributable to errors, particularly flaws in matching death records to voter rolls, which is mandated by federal law.
Some states, such as Oklahoma, additionally verify with Social Security Administration data.
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