President Donald Trump said on October 26 that anyone who reports voter fraud will be paid $1 million once the report leads to an arrest and conviction. The promise covers fraud in past elections and in the midterm elections on November 3. As of October 27, 2026, no payment timetable, claim form, or administering agency for that offer had been published in the reporting checked.
Trump wrote that "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." Speaking to reporters afterward, he called the payment a "bonus or reward, or whatever you want to call it" for information leading to an arrest and conviction. An arrest and a conviction are different hurdles, and the promise itself does not set a payment date.
The program that does exist
Six days before the $1 million promise, the Justice Department announced a whistleblower program that is easy to confuse with it. The Whistleblower Rewards Program, known as WHIP, was announced on October 20 by the department's National Fraud Enforcement Division, as a three-year pilot. Its terms and FAQs set the rules.
WHIP pays $10,000 to $30,000 for each distinct tip. Awards are entirely discretionary, not guaranteed. A tipster must be an individual who voluntarily provides truthful, complete, original information in writing, cooperates fully, and did not meaningfully participate in the reported activity. The information must lead to criminal charges in a covered area. Payment is normally considered after charges are unsealed, not automatically when charges are filed, and under the FAQs a tipster does not have to wait for a guilty plea or sentence. Tips go through the portal at america.gov/fraud.
WHIP's published scope does not include elections. It covers federal health care offenses and fraud on programs run by the departments of Agriculture, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Veterans Affairs, and War, plus the Small Business Administration. Hospice, home health, day care, and special services fraud are listed as priorities. A voter fraud tip sent through that portal would not qualify under WHIP's published terms. That does not mean no other federal reward program exists; the DOJ FAQs note that reporting other fraud may still uncover a covered crime or qualify under another program.
How the two offers compare
| $1 million voter fraud promise | WHIP fraud whistleblower program | |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | October 26, 2026 | October 20, 2026 |
| Amount | $1 million | $10,000 to $30,000 per qualifying distinct tip |
| Paid when | Arrest and conviction, as promised; no timetable published as of October 27, 2026 | Normally after charges are unsealed, at the department's discretion |
| Covers | Voter fraud, as described in the announcement | Federal health care offenses and fraud on listed federal programs, not elections |
| Claim process | None published as of October 27, 2026 | Tips through america.gov/fraud |
What to watch before November 3
Whether the White House publishes terms for the $1 million offer before Election Day is the next step that would change this picture. Published terms would have to answer who can claim, what evidence counts, which agency decides, and what fund pays. Voters with questions about their own ballot or polling place still need their state or local election office, since states and counties run elections. Anyone with evidence of a crime can contact law enforcement through existing channels, but neither route is a path to the $1 million under terms published as of October 27, 2026.
Questions and answers
Can I claim the $1 million by reporting through america.gov/fraud?
No published link exists between that portal and the $1 million promise. The portal serves WHIP, whose published terms cover health care and listed federal program fraud, not voter fraud.
Does the existing federal whistleblower program cover voter fraud?
No. WHIP's published scope covers federal health care offenses and fraud on programs run by eight listed federal entities, and elections are not among them.
Correction: An earlier version of this article dated the photograph November 4, 2024. The Library of Congress dates it November 4, 1924. The caption and alt text have been corrected.
