It is very difficult and rare for someone to vote on behalf of a deceased person. We explain why

By Ali Swenson

How do states make sure they don't count ballots in the names of deceased people?

Election officials frequently review death records, and in many states, statistical agencies send them monthly lists of people who have died, which are used to update voter files.

They can also check this information by contacting the Departments of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to track canceled driver's licenses or by looking for published obituaries and letters of will.

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Even if a ballot is mistakenly mailed to a deceased voter, the signature verification and voter fraud laws provide additional precautions to prevent someone else from completing and mailing it.

Those who forge the signatures of their dead relatives

In some states, witness signatures or notarization required for absentee voting add an additional barrier to preventing this rare form of voter fraud.

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Following the 2020 presidential election, former President Donald Trump and his supporters claimed that thousands of votes were cast fraudulently, even citing the names of people whose ballots were allegedly counted.

But these speculations, which spread in many states such as Arizona, Virginia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia, were false.

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When the Arizona attorney general investigated the claim that 282 dead voter ballots were cast in 2020, he found only one case to be substantiated.

Michigan Republican lawmakers also reviewed a list of more than 200 cases in Wayne County and found only two deaths.

The first was a clerical error in which a son was mistaken for his dead father, and the second was that of a 92-year-old woman who sent in her ballot and died four days before the election.

Whether a vote like this is counted depends on state legislation.

A poll worker inspects a mail-in ballot in California.Rich Pedroncelli/AP

At least 11 states — nine by law and two based on attorney general rulings — prohibit counting the votes of voters who cast a ballot and die before Election Day, while nine states allow it, according to the National Conference of Legislatures. State.

Others have not spoken.

Election integrity groups reviewing voter files can confuse a living voter with a deceased voter if they have similar names, dates of birth or hometowns, leading to false claims of fraud, explained Jason Roberts, a science professor. policies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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"You might think it's weird that someone with the same name and date of birth has died, but it's really

," Roberts said.

"It happens often."

There have been cases of electoral fraud for impersonating a deceased person.

For example, a Las Vegas man admitted to voting his dead wife's ballot in 2020 and received a fine and probation for the crime.

Another Pennsylvania man who pleaded guilty to voting his late mother's ballot in 2020 has been sentenced to five years probation.

However, Roberts clarified, very few attempt this type of election fraud, so it is "very, very rare" for it to occur.

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