Fact check: What are the most common causes of voting irregularities in US elections?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the analyses provided, the most common causes of voting irregularities in US elections fall into several distinct categories:

Voter Suppression and Access Issues

The most frequently cited cause across sources is voter suppression, which includes systematic efforts to restrict voting access. This encompasses strict voter ID laws, voter roll purges, and barriers that disproportionately affect racial minorities, poor people, and young and old voters ^{[1] [2]}. These suppression tactics have a documented history of creating voting irregularities by preventing eligible voters from participating.

Voter Registration Problems

Multiple sources identify voter registration issues as a primary source of irregularities. This includes the need for more standardized registration processes to prevent errors and intimidation ^[3], missing information in voter registration records ^[4], and inaccurate voter registration rolls ^[5]. Recent federal action against North Carolina demonstrates ongoing challenges with voter registration compliance ^[4].

Technical and Administrative Challenges

Election Day technical difficulties represent another category, including voting machine malfunctions, text scams, and bomb threats ^[6]. However, comprehensive audits show these issues are relatively rare - Wisconsin's audit of the 2024 election found only five human errors with an error rate of 0.0000009% and zero voting machine errors ^[7].

Non-citizen Voting Concerns

Recent enforcement actions highlight non-citizen voting as an identified irregularity, with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton investigating 33 potential cases ^[8] and the Justice Department bringing charges against non-citizens for alleged illegal voting with assistance from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ^[9].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks important context about the scale and frequency of different types of irregularities. While voter fraud claims receive significant attention, comprehensive analysis shows that over 60 lawsuits challenging the 2020 election were dismissed due to lack of evidence, with fewer than 500 cases of potentially fraudulent ballots found nationwide ^[10].

Political Motivations and Beneficiaries

The analyses reveal that different political actors benefit from emphasizing different types of irregularities:

• Voting rights organizations like the Brennan Center for Justice benefit from highlighting voter suppression as the primary concern, as this supports their advocacy for expanded voting access
• Conservative officials like Ken Paxton and supporters of President Trump's election integrity initiatives benefit from emphasizing non-citizen voting and fraud concerns, as this justifies stricter voting requirements
• The Heritage Foundation maintains a database of election fraud cases, which serves their organizational mission of documenting vulnerabilities in the election process ^[11]

Recent Policy Changes

The question doesn't account for recent executive actions that may reshape how voting irregularities are addressed. President Trump's executive order requires documentary proof of citizenship for federal voter registration and mandates all ballots be received by Election Day ^{[5] [12]}. Voting rights groups have expressed concerns that these requirements could disenfranchise eligible voters who lack readily available citizenship documentation.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself appears neutral, but the framing could inadvertently perpetuate misconceptions about the prevalence of voting irregularities. The analyses reveal that:

Unsubstantiated Claims vs. Documented Issues

Claims of widespread voter fraud are often unsubstantiated and used to spread misinformation and undermine trust in the electoral process, with both pro-Trump and Democratic Party supporters promoting unverified claims on social media ^[13]. This creates a false equivalency between documented voter suppression efforts and unproven fraud allegations.

Scale Misrepresentation

The question doesn't distinguish between systemic issues affecting thousands of voters (like voter suppression) versus isolated incidents affecting dozens (like the non-citizen voting cases). The Heritage Foundation's database, while documenting real cases, explicitly notes it's "not comprehensive" and only demonstrates vulnerabilities rather than widespread problems ^[11].

Temporal Context Missing

The analyses span from 2008 to 2025, but recent sources show that claims about voting machine tampering have been repeatedly debunked, with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas investigating fewer than 10 claims and finding no