Electoral fraud is often committed by local political agents on behalf of national incumbents, yet agents’ motivations remain unclear. We propose that local politicians use fraud to signal loyalty to national incumbents. Examining Hungary, a case of recent democratic backsliding, we study mayors’ alleged voter roll inflation and “vote tourism” practices, where voters from outside the country are transported in to vote. Utilizing a difference-in-difference design, we document fraud around border areas. We show vote tourism increasing the national incumbent’s vote share, although it does not affect the national incumbent’s chances of winning or seat share. Instead, fraud serves as a signaling device: mayors involved in fraud are more likely to receive central government funding, which mayors spend on contracts with companies connected to the national incumbent. Our findings underscore local actors' non-electoral motivations for engaging in voter fraud and reveal how weakened electoral accountability skews public funding distribution.