Trump to pay a million dollars to anyone who helps convict a voter fraudster

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he is offering a $1 million reward to individuals who provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of people involved in voter fraud. The offer applies to fraud in both upcoming and past elections. Trump posted the news on Truth Social, stating that the payout would occur after the "arrest and conviction of those that created the fraud." He did not identify where the money for these payments would come from.

A White House spokesperson directed NBC News to Trump’s social media post for further details. The announcement marks the latest financial move by the administration ahead of the midterm elections. It follows the unveiling of a $25 million government fraud whistleblower program, for which Trump said he would personally decide who is worthy of the prize.

The $1 million bounty is part of a wider strategy to influence the 2026 midterms. The administration has allocated substantial resources to search for noncitizens on state voter rolls. The Justice Department recently sued California officials to force the segregation of mail ballots that it believes were sent to potential noncitizens. Last week, the Justice Department also sued Alaska officials at Trump’s request. That lawsuit aims to prevent the certification of U.S. Senate race results if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan loses.

Despite these actions, studies indicate that noncitizen voting is rare. There is also no evidence of widespread voter fraud in U.S. elections. Instances of fraud do occur, such as when voters use ballots for recently deceased relatives or lie on mail ballot applications. These cases are usually caught. A tracker from the Heritage Foundation has recorded more than 1,600 incidents of voter fraud over 40 years, which represents a small fraction of the total votes cast during that period.

Trump has long claimed that widespread fraud cost him the 2020 election. Courts have blocked his attempts to make sweeping changes to mail voting and to require documentary proof of citizenship for all voters. The new reward program adds to a series of financial promises he has made while campaigning for Republicans. He has also pledged $5,000 payments to Americans if his party maintains control of Congress. Like the fraud bounty, he has not clarified the funding source for those payments.