WASHINGTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States will award US$1 million to anyone who reports election fraud that leads to imprisonment and conviction, one week before the midterm elections, which polls suggest could prove difficult for the Republican Party.
The Trump administration has adopted an increasingly aggressive approach to election oversight, pressuring states to provide voter registration data and arguing that tougher measures are needed to ensure public confidence in the electoral process.
Critics, including political experts, as well as Democratic election officials and some Republicans, consider these measures an excessive intrusion by the federal government.
“Anyone who reports election fraud in past elections or in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections will receive US$1,000,000 after the perpetrators of the fraud are imprisoned and convicted,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday.
Some election officials told Reuters that they are preparing for possible federal interference in the midterm elections.
Trump has previously made false claims related to elections, including refusing to acknowledge his defeat in the 2020 elections.
His supporters ultimately stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a failed attempt to prevent Congress from certifying those elections.
Currently, Republicans hold a slim majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
However, on the eve of the midterm elections, in which control of Congress is at stake, Trump’s popularity remains low due to voters’ concerns about the high cost of living and rising fuel prices resulting from the United States and Israel’s war against Iran.
