Trump election fraud reward of $1 million was announced on 26 October by United States President Donald Trump, who said anyone reporting election fraud in previous elections or in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections would receive the money after those who committed fraud are arrested and convicted. The announcement was made on Truth Social, according to international news reporting on 27 October.
“Anyone reporting election fraud in previous elections, or in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, will receive $1 million after those who committed the fraud are arrested and convicted,” Trump wrote, according to the reports. The White House chief did not provide details on where the reward money would come from or how it would be paid, the reports said.
Timing one week before the midterms
The offer landed exactly one week before Americans vote on 3 November in midterm elections that will decide control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. About 210 million registered voters will decide the balance of power in Congress, according to reporting on the midterms, determining the extent of Trump’s legislative and executive authority during the remaining two years of his term.
Although Trump himself is not on the ballot, control of both chambers is at stake. All 435 House seats and 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats are up for election, including special elections in Florida and Ohio to fill vacancies left by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice-President JD Vance. Voters in 36 states will also elect governors, alongside state legislators and local officials.
A familiar claim, a new price tag
Trump has long claimed, without evidence accepted by courts, that past elections were affected by fraud, and the new reward revives that claim in the final week of a campaign already marked by disputes over election security. The announcement did not name a funding source, an administering agency, a claims process, or a deadline, and no White House statement detailing those points had been published in the initial reporting.
Election officials and analysts have repeatedly said that large-scale fraud that could change a national result has not been established in recent US elections, and that recounts, audits and court cases have tested the claims. The reward’s condition — payment only after arrest and conviction — means any claimant would first need a prosecution to succeed, a high bar that the announcement itself acknowledged by tying payment to conviction.
The move comes as both parties brace for disputes over results. Congressional Democrats are forming an election protection task force, according to NPR reporting on 27 October, bracing for what they fear could be meddling with results, while prediction markets are under scrutiny over election betting. The reward is therefore likely to become a talking point in the final days of campaigning, whether or not any claim is ever paid.
