The Cost of Undermining Confidence in Elections

We should thoroughly investigate claims of election fraud—but we also need to abide the findings of those investigations.

One of America’s great strengths is that we don’t simply hold elections—we also trust that the results reflect the will of the people. That trust isn’t automatic. It’s earned through transparent systems, public accountability, and continual testing and improvement.

In recent years, Americans have repeatedly heard claims that our elections are plagued by widespread fraud, that results cannot be trusted. Those are serious allegations. If true, they would demand immediate action.

Yet, after years, these allegations still lack evidence. Investigations including governmental audits and cybersecurity experts have not substantiated claims of widespread election fraud.

We believe in following where the facts lead, and we worry that undermining trust in elections has real consequences for the nation we love.

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

The prevalence of voter fraud

We at the Network of Utah Moderates believe strongly in free and fair elections. To ensure they remain so, elections must be safeguarded and reports of voter fraud should be thoroughly investigated. Every violation of election law should be taken seriously.

But isolated cases of fraud are very different from widespread fraud.

We recognize that errors and one-off violations—including votes that shouldn’t be counted—do occasionally slip through. Organizations across the political spectrum, including the conservative Heritage Foundation, maintain databases that document those cases.

These cases have been thoroughly examined by state election officials, law enforcement agencies, third parties, and the courts. Research on the topic suggests that fraud remains rare—the rate of voter fraud has remained consistent at about .0000845%.

Recent claims of widespread fraud have been thoroughly investigated, too. In every case, the evidence has simply not supported the conclusion that widespread fraud occurred. To reiterate: no evidence supports the claim that fraud altered the outcome of recent American elections. Moreover, organizations like True the Vote that claimed to have evidence of widespread fraud later admitted in court they had no evidence to back their claims of ballot stuffing. (See footnotes for more citations)

When political leaders repeatedly make claims that aren’t supported by the evidence, they don’t just undermine confidence in a single election—they undermine confidence in elections themselves. That has real consequences.

Civic trust is valuable

Confidence in our elections is one of the United States’ most valuable assets. When this trust is weakened, citizens become less confident that their vote matters, less likely to vote, and more likely to question election outcomes before the evidence has been examined.

Real-world implications include election workers face increasing threats and harassment while carrying out an essential public service. Even trust between neighbors can erode as more people assume political opponents won through cheating rather than persuasion or merit.

Declining confidence also shapes public policy. People who believe widespread fraud is occurring become more willing to support changes to election laws in the name of security. Some proposals may strengthen security (we’re all for these!), but other reforms create unnecessary barriers for eligible voters without meaningfully improving election integrity. Such reforms can lower turnout and—in the worst instances—deprive some U.S. citizens of their Constitutional right to vote.

Whatever reforms we choose should be driven by evidence, not by fear.

What Utah has done to secure elections

That’s one reason we’ve appreciated Utah’s approach. Rather than assuming the best (or worst) about our elections, Utah’s top election officials got to work investigating concerns. State leaders reviewed more than two million voter registrations, strengthened voter-roll maintenance, conducted audits, publicly shared their findings, and made improvements where needed.

That’s what responsible stewardship looks like.

Strong election security and public confidence aren’t competing values. They depend on one another. Let’s keep conducting thorough audits, upgrading security, and investigating fraud whenever it’s found.

We also need to accept the results of those audits instead of undermining them for political purposes. When investigations are complete, audits have been conducted, and the facts are available, we should let that evidence shape our conclusions.

What we expect from our leaders

Public trust is difficult to build and remarkably easy to lose. That’s why Utah—and the country at large—needs leaders who speak honestly about our election system and its results. When leaders repeat claims that aren’t supported by the evidence, they shape public opinion and weaken confidence in one of the institutions that makes self-government possible.

We should expect more from those who seek to lead us. Let’s elect leaders who value truth over fear, evidence over rhetoric, and who strengthen public confidence rather than diminish it.

As citizens, we’re responsible to hold ourselves to that same standard. To ask good questions, seek reliable information, follow the evidence wherever it leads. That means being willing to change our minds when the facts call for it (which is difficult!)

Here at the Network of Utah Moderates, we may not all agree on every policy or every politician. We do, however, agree that truth matters, evidence matters, and trust is worth protecting. By demanding honesty and choosing evidence over fear, we can help strengthen not just our elections, but our representative democracy itself.

We have hope that together, we can rebuild trust. Hope that we can choose leaders who elevate our public discourse rather than divide it. Hope that we can become citizens who seek for understanding, follow the evidence, and uphold truth. Thanks for joining us in this quest.

---

We’ll be posting more in coming weeks about how Utah specifically protects election security—including details you may not have heard before, along with more information about how Utah works as we gear up for the November 2026 election.

Sources for further reading

• U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. “Statement by Attorney General William P. Barr on Election Fraud Investigations,” December 1, 2020, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/statement-attorney-general-william-p-barr-election-fraud-investigations.

• Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council and Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Council Executive Committees. “Joint Statement from Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council & the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive Committees.” November 12, 2020. https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/joint-statement-elections-infrastructure-government-coordinating-council-election-infrastructure.

• Christopher Wray, testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, September 24, 2020. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/24/fbi-has-not-seen-evidence-of-widespread-voter-fraud-director-wray-tells-senators.html.

• The Heritage Foundation, “Election Fraud Database”. Accessed July 15, 2026.

• Brennan Center for Justice, “The Myth of Voter Fraud,” accessed July 15, 2026, https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/vote-suppression/myth-voter-fraud.

• Brennan Center for Justice, “Heritage Fraud Database: An Assessment,” September 8, 2017. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/heritage-fraud-database-assessment.

• Associated Press, “Trump’s Drumbeat of Lies About the 2020 Election Keeps Getting Louder. Here Are the Facts,” updated July 2023. Associated Press fact check.

• Brennan Center for Justice, “It’s Official: The Election Was Secure,” December 11, 2020. It’s Official: The Election Was Secure.