President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States will pay $1 million to anyone who reports voter fraud that leads to an arrest and a conviction, just eight days before the midterm elections.
The offer lands barely a week before voters go to the polls on Tuesday, November 3, in elections that polls show could prove difficult for Trump's Republican Party.
A bigger reward than the fraud program
The $1 million voter-fraud reward goes further than the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program the White House rolled out on October 20. Under that program, tipsters who help uncover fraud in government programs receive a 1% commission on the money recovered, with a White House official saying payments would reach up to $30,000 and the program totalling $25 million.
That program, run with the Department of Justice, covers fraud in taxpayer-funded programs. Today's offer is aimed squarely at elections: report voter fraud, and if it ends in an arrest and a conviction, the reward is $1 million.
Why now
Trump has made fraud the centrepiece of his midterm campaign blitz. Vice President JD Vance has been travelling the country promoting the anti-fraud push, accusing Democrat-led states of failing to stop fraud in programs such as Medicaid.
The timing is no accident. With control of Congress at stake on November 3 and the polls tightening, the White House is putting cash on the table for anyone who can deliver a voter-fraud conviction — and sending a message to voters that the administration is watching the ballot box.
Sources: Reuters, 26 Oct 2026; USA Today, 20 Oct 2026.