Myth vs. Fact: We’ve seen numerous social media posts falsely claiming that drop boxes, voting by mail, or absentee voting are vehicles for mass voter fraud. The reality is that mail ballots have been successfully used in the United States for over 150 years, and in that time, states have developed multiple layers of security to protect against malfeasance.
Voter fraud related to ballots sent by mail or placed in drop boxes is extremely rare — so rare that multiple analyses have shown that it is more likely that someone will be struck by lightning than commit mail ballot fraud. While practices vary by state, among the most common is monitoring drop boxes by video surveillance or with bipartisan teams of election workers to ensure that votes are not stolen or tampered with. Another widely used method is ensuring that bipartisan teams are present when mail ballots are handled, including when they are processed and counted.