Trump offers staggering $1 million reward to Americans who expose voter fraud in bombshell move days before midterms
President Trump is itching to crack down on purported ‘voter fraud’ this midterm season, and he’s willing to pay big bucks to those willing to help rat out cheaters.
In a post on Truth Social Monday, the president wrote that he would pay $1 million to the person who turns in a perpetrator, upon their arrest and conviction.
Trump did not say where the $1 million reward would come from or explain which agency would administer the payments.
Federal law makes certain election-fraud offenses punishable by up to five years in prison, including fraudulent voting and paying someone to vote in a federal election.
The announcement came days after the administration unveiled a separate $25 million fraud whistleblower program, but it has not confirmed whether the two initiatives are connected.
It comes as Trump has shown rising anxiety about his party losing congressional seats in next Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick offered the exact same $1 million reward after the 2020 election, and the only person ever to collect was Eric Frank, a Democratic poll worker in Pennsylvania who turned in a 72-year-old Republican for voting twice.
Patrick paid him $25,000, a fraction of the advertised million.
‘Anybody reporting Voter Fraud in the past Elections, or the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election, will be paid $1,000,000 upon the arrest and conviction of those that created the Fraud,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday afternoon
Democrats and voting-rights groups are preparing to deploy tens of thousands of election observers for the November midterms, as the Justice Department plans its largest-ever operation to monitor polling places
Earlier this month, the administration claimed more than 20,000 people it believed were noncitizens were registered in California and sought to have their mail ballots set aside pending eligibility checks
Democrats and voting-rights groups are preparing to deploy tens of thousands of election observers for the November midterms, as the Justice Department plans its largest-ever operation to monitor polling places.
In a report published Monday, the Associated Press revealed that state Democratic parties have trained around 10,000 volunteers, while voting-rights group Common Cause has trained another 16,000.
A coalition of 300 organizations has trained tens of thousands more.
Some Democratic-led states are also preparing to monitor the monitors.
Minnesota deployed around 40 state employees to track federal observers during its August primary, and state officials say they expect to continue that effort in November.
The effort comes as the DOJ prepares to send around 1,000 federal monitors to polling locations nationwide.
The Republican National Committee is mounting its own operation, saying it has recruited nearly 22,000 poll workers and is organizing poll watchers in competitive districts.
Democrats have raised concerns about possible voter intimidation, while the administration says its observers will ensure federal election laws are followed.
The Justice Department announced in August that it planned to deploy a record 1,000 federal monitors to polling places across the country for the November 3 midterms, raising concerns among Democrats and some election officials about federal involvement in the voting process.
Democrats have been preparing their own response for months.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Alex Padilla launched an election-observer program in June, announcing on October 14 that more than 100 trained Democratic Senate staffers would be sent to polling sites and ballot-counting facilities across nine states to document potential interference and threats against election workers.
Minnesota deployed around 40 state employees to track federal observers during its August primary, and state officials say they expect to continue that effort in November
At the GOP’s convention in Dallas in September, Trump promised a $5,000 payment to every American adult if Republicans hold on to both chambers of Congress in November, urging voters to back his party
House Speaker Mike Johnson has acknowledged that Congress would need to authorize the payments, which could cost more than $1 trillion
Earlier this month, the administration claimed more than 20,000 people it believed were noncitizens were registered in California and sought to have their mail ballots set aside pending eligibility checks.
California officials challenged the federal government’s evidence and refused to comply with the demand as presented.
In July, Trump claimed his administration had found roughly 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote in federal elections, including about 250,000 across California, Nevada, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
State officials questioned the figures and the administration’s methodology.
This isn’t the first time Trump has dangled a cash incentive during the midterm campaign.
At the GOP’s convention in Dallas in September, he promised a $5,000 payment to every American adult if Republicans hold on to both chambers of Congress in November, urging voters to back his party.
The pledge immediately raised legal questions, with critics accusing Trump of effectively trying to buy votes.
However, election-law experts said the proposal was unlikely to violate federal law because the promised payments would go to all eligible adults, rather than being conditional on how any individual voted.
Trump has continued touting his $5,000 ‘Trump dividend’ ahead of the midterms, but the proposal remains unapproved.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has acknowledged that Congress would need to authorize the payments, which could cost more than $1 trillion.
