Heartland/Rasmussen Poll: One-in-Five Mail-In Voters Admit to Committing at Least One Kind of Voter Fraud During 2020 Election

17% of mail-in voters admit that in 2020 they voted in a state where they are “no longer a permanent resident”

21% of mail-in voters admitted that they filled out a ballot for a friend or family member

17% of mail-in voters said they signed a ballot for a friend or family member “with or without his or her permission”

8% of likely voters say they were offered “pay” or a “reward” for voting in 2020

Taken together, the results of these survey questions appear to show that voter fraud was widespread in the 2020 election, especially among those who cast mail-in ballots.

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ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL (December 12, 2023) – A new poll by The Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports found one-in-five voters who cast mail-in ballots during the 2020 presidential election admit to participating in at least one kind of voter fraud.

When asked, “During the 2020 election, did you fill out a ballot, in part or in full, on behalf of a friend or family member, such as a spouse or child?”, 21% of respondents who said they voted by mail answered “yes.” (Filling out a ballot for someone else is illegal in all states, although many states allow people to assist others with voting.)

Additionally, 17% of mail-in voters said they voted “in a state where you were no longer a permanent resident.” Seventeen percent of mail-in voters also admitted to signing a “ballot or ballot envelope on behalf of a friend or family member.” (Both voting in a state where you are no longer a permanent resident and forging a signature on a ballot or ballot envelope are fraudulent activities that invalidate votes, when caught by election officials.)

According to election data, more than 43 percent of 2020 voters cast ballots by mail, the highest percentage in U.S. history.

Further, 10% of all respondents — not just those who said they voted by mail — claimed that they know “a friend, family member, co-worker, or other acquaintance who has admitted … that he or she cast a mail-in ballot in 2020 in a state other than his or her state of permanent residence.”

Eight percent of all respondents said “a friend, family member, or organization, such as a political party” offered them “pay” or a “reward” for agreeing to vote in the 2020 election.

Taken together, the results of these survey questions appear to show that voter fraud was widespread in the 2020 election, especially among those who cast mail-in ballots.

The poll of 1,085 likely voters was conducted from November 30 to December 6, 2023. Among those surveyed in the poll, 33% were Republicans, 36% were Democrats, and 31% were “other”; 32% were 18-39 years old, 46% were 40-64 years old, and 22% were 65 or older.

The following statements from policy experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. If you’d like to interview a Heartland Institute expert on this topic or other topics, please contact Justin Haskins, the director of Heartland’s Socialism Research Center and primary author of the Heartland/Rasmussen survey, at [email protected], or contact Vice President and Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected]. You can also call/text Jim at 312-731-9364.

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“The results of this survey are nothing short of stunning. For the past three years, Americans have repeatedly been told that the 2020 election was the most secure in history. But if this poll’s findings are reflective of reality, the exact opposite is true. This conclusion isn’t based on conspiracy theories or suspect evidence, but rather from the responses made directly by the voters themselves.

“A democratic republic cannot survive if election laws allow voters to commit fraud easily, and that’s exactly what occurred during the 2020 election. Although some progress has been made in more than a dozen states since the conclusion of the 2020 election, much more work is needed in most regions of the United States. If America’s election laws do not improve soon, voters and politicians will continue to question the truthfulness and fairness of all future elections.”

Justin Haskins
Director, Socialism Research Center
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]

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“The 2020 election was unlike any other in history as tens of millions of Americans voted by mail due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, many experts warned that massive mail-in voting could result in widespread voter fraud. Unfortunately, these concerns were prophetic, as the results of this poll clearly show that a large number of voters did indeed fraudulently cast ballots in the 2020 election.

“The past few presidential elections have been razor-thin, and signs point to 2024 being another closely contested election. It is paramount that the American people have the utmost confidence that all elections are free and fair, and bereft of voter fraud as much as possible. Therefore, states should ensure their voter rolls are up-to-date and accurate, encourage in-person voting, and implement commonsense measures to reduce the potential for mail-in voting fraud.”

Chris Talgo
Editorial Director, Research Fellow
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]

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“The results of this poll should be eye-opening to anyone that claims to care about the legitimacy of our democratic institutions. Since the 2020 elections, anyone who questioned the security of widespread mail-in balloting was dismissed as a conspiracy theorist. Now, those people are 100 percent vindicated in their concerns.

“The only question that remains is whether these stunning admissions by voters will result in reforms to our country’s election laws.” 

Donald Kendal
Deputy Director, Socialism Research Center
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]

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“This survey emphatically suggests that the 2020 presidential election results were contaminated by widespread voter fraud, despite the mainstream media’s constant attempts to gaslight the American public into believing the opposite. Of the 30 percent of Americans claiming they voted by mail in this survey, at least one in every five engaged in one or more kinds of voter fraud.

“While many might—perhaps rightfully—attempt to use these results in an effort to vindicate Donald Trump’s claims of voter fraud and subsequently relitigate the 2020 election, it is more important to look forward than backward. With the 2024 elections right around the corner, it is imperative that state officials do everything in their power to shore up the integrity of their voting processes. Eliminating or vastly restricting mail-in voting would be a good place to start.”

Jack McPherrin
Research Editor, Research Fellow
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]

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“These survey results show the importance of implementing forward-looking fixes to election rules and procedures that currently allow and encourage fraud. Regardless of what one’s views are on the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, Americans deserve an election system that is undeniably transparent and immune from mischief. These survey results conclusively illustrate that election fraud is a rampant and pervasive problem that undermines our democracy.”

James Taylor
President
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]

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“Anyone who believed that the 2020 election was ‘the most secure in American history’ trusted a corrupt Deep State more than their eyes and common sense. Yet this narrative continues to dominate corporate media coverage. Our election systems are broken in this country. If we do not fix them – including harsh punishments who break the law, as many admitted to in this survey – it will be impossible to trust any election moving forward. If you don’t protect the integrity of the election process and every single ballot, the franchise means nothing and we no longer live in a society governed by the actual will of the people.”

Jim Lakely
Vice President and Director of Communications
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]

The Heartland Institute is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1984 and headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems.

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Survey of 1,085 National Likely Voters
November 30 – December 6, 2023
Conducted by Rasmussen Reports and the Heartland Institute

1. If your state banned mail-in balloting in next year’s presidential election, would you choose to vote in-person or would you choose not to vote at all?

94% you would vote in person

2% you wouldn’t vote

4% not sure

2. We are now going to ask you several questions about voting in the 2020 Presidential election.  Your responses will remain anonymous, so please answer honestly.  Who did you vote for in the 2020 Presidential election?

45% Donald Trump

46% Joe Biden

4% some other candidate

3% didn’t vote

1% not sure

3. Did you vote with an absentee or mail-in ballot in the 2020 election?

30% yes

68% no

2% not sure

Answered by respondents who voted by absentee or mail-in ballot:

4. During the 2020 election, did a friend or family member fill out your ballot, in part or in full, on your behalf?

19% yes

79% no

2% not sure

5. During the 2020 election, did you fill out a ballot, in part or in full, on behalf of a friend or family member, such as a spouse or child?

21% yes

78% no

0% not sure

6. During the 2020 election, did you cast a mail-in ballot in a state where you were no longer a permanent resident?

17% yes

82% no

1% not sure

7. During the 2020 election, did you sign a ballot or ballot envelope on behalf of a friend or family member, with or without his or her permission?

17% yes

81% no

1% not sure

Answered by all respondents:

8. During the 2020 election, did a friend, family member, or organization, such as a political party, offer to pay or reward you for voting?

8% yes

91%no

1% not sure

9. Do you know a friend, family member, co-worker, or other acquaintance who has admitted to you that he or she cast a mail-in ballot in 2020 in a state other than his or her state of permanent residence?

10% yes

86% no

3% not sure

10. Do you know a friend, family member, co-worker, or other acquaintance who has admitted to you that he or she filled out a ballot on behalf of another person?

11% yes

87% no

2% not sure

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence

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