As President Trump has implored voters to support Republicans in next week’s elections, he has frequently dangled financial incentives and issued unfounded warnings about voter fraud.
On Monday, he married those two passions.
“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!” Mr. Trump wrote on social media.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions about where the money would come from for the ostensible rewards or how Americans are supposed to report fraud accusations.
The announcement reflected another step in Mr. Trump’s gathering campaign to use the powers of his office to influence the outcome of the midterms.
For years, the president has attacked the integrity of U.S. elections, and in his second term, his administration has tried to assert more control over the voting process, which is overseen by states. Last week, Mr. Trump moved to pre-emptively challenge the certification of Alaska’s Senate election if the Republican candidate loses.
The president and his Justice Department have also leaned on expansive but unsupported claims of voter fraud in trying to force states like California to set aside thousands of mail ballots they claim were sent to noncitizens.
At the same time, Mr. Trump has stepped up the financial incentives for voters as Republicans face increasingly steep odds of keeping control of Congress.
A national poll from The New York Times and Siena University found Mr. Trump’s approval rating hit a new low this month, with just 36 percent of likely voters saying they approved of his job performance. Likely voters said they preferred Democratic candidates over Republicans by 11 percentage points in their congressional districts.
Over the past two months, Mr. Trump has signed pardons at campaign rallies, sent $500 Obamacare “refund” checks” and issued $90 direct deposits to seniors to offset Medicare premiums.
The central reward, though, is the so-called “Trump Dividend,” which Mr. Trump announced at the Republican gathering he insisted his party throw last month in Dallas.
Mr. Trump has promised $5,000 for every American adult if Republicans retain control of Congress, a proposal that has drawn bipartisan criticism and would cost more than $1 trillion. It would also likely require congressional approval.
Earlier this month, Mr. Trump announced a new $25 million whistle-blower incentive program to provide information to combat fraud. There are already multiple avenues for reporting fraud to the federal government, and the new program raised concerns because Mr. Trump said he would personally determine who received the money.
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