Free and fair democratic elections are one of the foundational pillars of the United States. The FBI is committed to protecting every eligible citizen's right to vote. Consistent with past practice, the FBI is providing this information to educate voters about federal election crimes and how to avoid them, and to encourage voters to report suspected violations to the FBI.
Election crimes threaten the integrity of elections and undermine public confidence in our democracy. Election crimes fall into broad categories:
- Ballot or voter fraud
- Campaign finance violations
- Threats to election workers
- Civil rights violations, such as voter suppression or voter intimidation
Federal Election Crime Examples
- Giving false information when registering to vote
- Voting more than once
- Changing ballot markings or otherwise tampering with ballots
- Vote buying
- Threatening voters with physical or financial harm
- Intentionally lying about the time, place, or manner of an election to prevent qualified voters from voting
- Political fundraising by federal employees
- Campaign contributions above legal limits
- Conduit contributions or straw donor schemes
- Contributions from foreign or other prohibited sources
- Use of campaign funds for personal or unauthorized purposes
- Voting by non-citizens
Tips to Protect Yourself
- Know when, where, and how you will vote.
- Seek out election information from trustworthy sources, verify who produced the content, and consider their intent.
- Report potential election crimes — such as disinformation about the time, place, or manner of voting — to the FBI.
- If appropriate, make use of built-in platform tools offered by social media companies for reporting suspicious posts that appear to be spreading false or inconsistent information about voting and elections.
- Use official websites, including the U.S. Election Assistance Commission or USA.gov, to identify the date, time, and location of your polling place.
- Research individuals and entities to whom you are making political donations by checking the registration status of the political action or party committee on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) website.
- Never accept money or anything of value in exchange for voting for a specific candidate.
Report It
If you or someone you know is aware of a federal election crime, report it to your local FBI field office or submit an electronic tip. Please include any available information, such as:
- The names of the individuals, election workers, or candidates involved.
- A screenshot of any threatening information concerning an election worker or polling location.
- A screenshot of the social media post if it appears to be spreading false or inconsistent information about voting and elections.
- The name, company, or website address of the individuals who contacted you to solicit illegal campaign contributions.
For additional information on other election-related threats, please see the following Public Service Announcements: