We use the term 'electoral fraud' to refer to cases where someone has committed, or is alleged to have committed, specific electoral law offences. These are offences that cover registering to vote, candidate nomination, campaigning and voting.

We take the risk of electoral fraud very seriously.

Throughout the year, all police forces across the UK send us data about allegations of electoral fraud that they receive and investigate.

Every year we report on the number, type, and outcome of these allegations, so that you can understand what’s happened and how cases are resolved.

Overview

In the past 5 years, there is no evidence of large-scale electoral fraud.

Of the 1,318 cases of alleged electoral fraud reported to police between 2020 and 2024, 8 led to convictions and the police issued 3 cautions.

Most cases either resulted in the police taking no further action or were locally resolved by the police issuing words of advice.