The offer and how it works

The president set out the terms in a Truth Social message on Monday: "Anybody reporting Voter Fraud in the past Elections, or the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election, will be paid $1,000,000". The money is payable only once those responsible have been arrested and convicted.

• Election fraud tips about past elections or the 2026 midterm elections both qualify
• An arrest and conviction is the condition for payment
• Trump gave no indication of how the rewards would be funded

Speaking to reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One for a campaign rally in Mississippi, he said: "I'm also going to be issuing a $1m bonus or reward, or whatever you want to call it", adding that anyone who reports voter fraud would receive it.

Context before the midterms

The announcement lands ahead of the November midterm elections and follows Trump's repeated and unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud. Earlier in the month, Democratic state attorneys general expanded coordination efforts to counter potential federal interference in the upcoming elections. California attorney general Rob Bonta accused the administration of restricting alleged noncitizen voting and of "politicizing and weaponizing the law".

Precedent: Texas's $25,000 offer

In 2020, Texas's Republican lieutenant governor Dan Patrick offered $25,000 for election-fraud tips. His reasoning, he said: "I support President Trump's efforts to identify voter fraud in the presidential election and his commitment" to counting every legal vote and disqualifying every illegal one.

Per the Washington Post in 2021, the first payout under Patrick's scheme went to Eric Frank. The Pennsylvania poll worker is a Democrat, and the tip he submitted brought a conviction against a 72-year-old Republican who had voted in his own name and also in his son's.