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By Steve Mollman
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President Donald Trump has offered $1 million to people who report voter fraud that results in an arrest and conviction, raising the financial stakes of his election-integrity push just over a week before the 2026 midterms.
Trump announced the offer on Truth Social on Monday, saying it would apply both to alleged fraud in previous elections and to the November 3 midterm elections.
“Anybody reporting Voter Fraud in the past Elections, or the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election, will be paid $1,000,000 upon the arrest and conviction of those that created the Fraud!” Trump wrote. “Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
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Trump did not say where the money would come from, how people could submit information, who would determine whether a tip qualified or whether the offer was part of an existing federal program. The White House did not provide additional details when asked by Newsweek, instead pointing to Trump’s Truth Social post. The Justice Department, asked whether it would administer or otherwise be involved in the reward and how it would be funded, told Newsweek: “We defer to the White House.”
The announcement comes eight days before Election Day and amid an intensifying push by the Trump administration against alleged election fraud, including prosecutions, investigations and litigation over voter eligibility and voter rolls.
It also comes less than a week after Trump and Vice President JD Vance unveiled a separate $25 million program offering people financial rewards for exposing fraud involving federal programs.
Trump Administration Expands Voter Fraud Crackdown Before 2026 Midterms
Monday’s offer lands amid a much broader federal campaign against alleged election fraud.
The Justice Department said on October 20 that it had charged 113 people in 20 states with illegal voting and illegal registration offenses over the preceding seven weeks. The allegations included noncitizens voting in federal elections, people falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on registration forms and people allegedly voting more than once.
Those cases are allegations rather than findings of guilt.
Among the administration's most contentious battles is one with California over voters that federal authorities say may not be U.S. citizens.
The DOJ sued California this month seeking to prevent ballots associated with more than 20,000 people it described as “likely” noncitizens from being counted until their citizenship could be determined. California officials have disputed the government's claims and said they have not received sufficient information to verify its list.
Trump has also threatened election officials in the state with jail if they count ballots from people flagged by the administration. Legal experts previously told Newsweek that prosecutors would need evidence that officials knowingly and intentionally facilitated illegal voting, rather than simply processing a ballot belonging to someone whose eligibility was disputed.
At the same time, the administration has been pursuing states for access to detailed voter-registration records. Earlier this month, a federal judge rejected the Justice Department's effort to obtain Georgia's unredacted statewide voter list, marking its 26th consecutive court defeat in litigation seeking detailed voter records from states. The administration has filed appeals in multiple cases.
Trump has repeatedly alleged fraud in U.S. elections and has supported tougher citizenship and identification requirements. Election experts have said noncitizen voting occurs but is rare, while the administration argues tighter enforcement and verification are needed to protect election integrity.
Trump's Other Cash Promises Before the Midterms
The $1 million offer is the latest in a series of cash incentives, payments and spending announcements Trump has promoted in the run-up to the midterm elections.
Just six days earlier, Trump and Vance announced the $25 million Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, or WHIP, to encourage Americans to report suspected fraud involving federal programs.
Trump said whistleblowers could receive 1 percent of the fraud they uncovered.
“All of those people that are willing to do the right thing and turn people in … they’re gonna become rich,” Trump said during the October 20 announcement. “When you get 1 percent of a billion dollars, 1 percent of a hundred billion dollars, it’s gonna be a tremendous amount of money.”
But the president's description differed from the Justice Department's published terms for the program, which said awards would generally range from $10,000 to $30,000 for eligible information leading to criminal charges in designated categories of fraud.
Trump subsequently insisted there was no limit on whistleblower compensation and said he would personally arbitrate disputes over rewards. The DOJ's published rules, however, said awards would be made at the department's sole discretion.
The administration has also made a series of other cash-related announcements as Republicans fight to retain control of Congress.
Trump has backed $90 checks to help seniors with Medicare premiums and $500 Obamacare “refunds,” while also promising $5,000 payments to every adult citizen if Republicans retain control of both the House and Senate.
On October 19, Trump announced another major initiative: $8 billion in one-time “fuel relief” payments for farmers struggling with elevated diesel and other input costs.
Those proposals have come as affordability and the cost of living remain major political concerns ahead of the midterms.
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Trump Makes Election Fraud a Final Midterm Message
The $1 million reward adds a new element to an election-integrity campaign that has become increasingly prominent in the administration's message during the closing stretch of the midterms.
Trump's announcement did not identify any particular suspected fraud or allege wrongdoing in a specific 2026 race. Nor did it spell out what evidence someone would need to provide to qualify for the money.
Neither the White House nor the Justice Department provided Newsweek with additional details about the funding source, administrative mechanism or process for claiming the promised $1 million.
The offer nevertheless puts a striking dollar figure on Trump's election-fraud push with eight days remaining before voters deliver their verdict in the 2026 midterms.
Newsweek reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Gray R. Thomas
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