Election Fraud in the American Mind

Objective: Disputes over election fraud have become a defining feature of contemporary American politics, yet it remains unclear whether partisans are disagreeing about the same underlying phenomenon. This article examines how Americans understand and interpret the phrase “election fraud” and whether partisan divisions reflect differences in concern about fraud or differences in what the term itself is taken to mean. Methods: We use novel survey questions included in our team's module of the 2024 Cooperative Election Study (N = 1000). An open-ended question captures respondents’ own top-of-mind associations with the phrase “election fraud,” while a closed-ended item asks respondents to indicate which phenomena they believe political elites are referring to when they invoke that phrase. Results: Across both measures, Democrats and Republicans agree that clear illegal acts, such as casting multiple ballots, constitute election fraud. However, partisan differences emerge in the breadth of phenomena associated with the term. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to associate election fraud with a wider range of activities, including media bias, prosecutorial actions, and systemic manipulation. Conclusion: Partisan disagreement over election fraud reflects not only differences in levels of concern but also differences in how partisans associate meaning with the phrase itself. These findings have important implications for survey measurement and for interpreting public opinion on election integrity.