New polling reveals a widening trust gap, while repeated claims about stolen elections continue to shape fears before America’s next major vote.
Americans’ growing belief in voter fraud could become one of the most dangerous threats to the 2026 midterm elections. Risk factors include President Donald Trump’s efforts to restrict mail-in voting and his tendency to question results when they are unfavorable to him.
As noted by CNN
Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen were among the factors that preceded the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Recently, the president once again posted a five-year-old video in which he urged the rioters to disperse, while repeating the false claim that he had won.
Half of voters fear widespread fraud
A Quinnipiac University poll found that 51% of registered voters are at least somewhat concerned about possible widespread fraud…
PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.