Pew Center on the States
Pew Charitable Trusts division behind the 2012 dead-voter registration estimate.
The centre's 2012 estimate of more than 1.8 million dead people on US voter rolls remains the benchmark; North Carolina said on 25 September 2026 that a federal SAVE search had found over 35,000 deceased registrants.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026
How many dead people are on US voter rolls?
Timeline for Pew Center on the States
Mentioned in: North Carolina's rolls held 35,000 dead
US Midterms 2026Background
The Pew Center on the States is a division of The Pew Charitable Trusts. In February 2012 it published 'Inaccurate, Costly, and Inefficient', based on research it commissioned from RTI International.
The report estimated that about 24 million registrations, one in eight, were invalid or significantly inaccurate. It found more than 1.8 million dead people listed as voters and about 2.75 million people registered in more than one state. Pew's 1.8 million figure is still the most quoted count of dead registrants.
The report helped bring about the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which seven states formed in 2012 with Pew's HELP to share data on voters WHO die or move. Later counts are read against Pew's numbers: North Carolina's State Board of Elections reported over 35,000 deceased registrants from a SAVE search on 25 September 2026, without saying any had voted.