diff --git a/gittensor/validator/issue_competitions/forward.py b/gittensor/validator/issue_competitions/forward.py
index cc6debb0..67fd46f7 100644
--- a/gittensor/validator/issue_competitions/forward.py
+++ b/gittensor/validator/issue_competitions/forward.py
@@ -28,8 +28,8 @@ async def issue_competitions(
     1. Harvest emissions into the bounty pool
     2. Get active issues from the smart contract
     3. For each active issue, check GitHub:
-       - If solved by eligible miner -> vote_solution
-       - If closed but not by eligible miner -> vote_cancel_issue
+       - If solved by a registered miner with a non-failed identity -> vote_solution
+       - If closed without a registered solver identity -> vote_cancel_issue
 
     Args:
         self: The validator instance
@@ -61,13 +61,15 @@ async def issue_competitions(
         if harvest_result and harvest_result.get('status') == 'success':
             bt.logging.success(f'Harvested emissions! Extrinsic: {harvest_result.get("tx_hash", "")}')
 
-        # Build mapping of github_id->hotkey for every registered miner. Bounty
-        # payouts are not eligibility-gated — any miner who solves a bounty
-        # issue can receive the reward.
+        # Build mapping of github_id->hotkey for every non-failed registered
+        # miner. Bounty payouts are not normal eligibility-gated, but failed
+        # evaluations are not valid payout targets. Duplicate GitHub IDs are
+        # penalized in oss_contributions() before this pass and arrive here as
+        # failed evaluations.
         registered_miners = {
             eval.github_id: eval.hotkey
             for eval in miner_evaluations.values()
-            if eval.github_id and eval.github_id != '0'
+            if eval.github_id and eval.github_id != '0' and eval.failed_reason is None
         }
         bt.logging.info(
             f'Issue bounties: {len(registered_miners)} registered miners out of {len(miner_evaluations)} total'
diff --git a/tests/validator/test_issue_competitions_forward.py b/tests/validator/test_issue_competitions_forward.py
index 9547953d..328b9f27 100644
--- a/tests/validator/test_issue_competitions_forward.py
+++ b/tests/validator/test_issue_competitions_forward.py
@@ -135,3 +135,42 @@ def test_ineligible_miner_still_receives_solution_vote():
 
     contract_client.vote_solution.assert_called_once()
     contract_client.vote_cancel_issue.assert_not_called()
+
+
+def test_failed_miner_does_not_receive_solution_vote():
+    validator = _make_validator()
+    contract_client = MagicMock()
+    contract_client.harvest_emissions.return_value = None
+    contract_client.get_issues_by_status.return_value = [_make_issue()]
+    contract_client.vote_cancel_issue.return_value = True
+
+    miner_eval = MinerEvaluation(uid=5, hotkey='hk5', github_id='999')
+    miner_eval.failed_reason = 'Penalized: duplicate GitHub account'
+
+    with (
+        patch('gittensor.validator.issue_competitions.forward.GITTENSOR_VALIDATOR_PAT', 'ghp_validator'),
+        patch('gittensor.validator.issue_competitions.forward.get_contract_address', return_value='5Contract'),
+        patch(
+            'gittensor.validator.issue_competitions.forward.check_github_issue_closed',
+            return_value={
+                'is_closed': True,
+                'solver_github_id': '999',
+                'pr_number': 42,
+                'solver_lookup_failed': False,
+            },
+        ),
+        patch('gittensor.validator.issue_competitions.forward.get_miner_coldkey') as mock_get_coldkey,
+        patch(
+            'gittensor.validator.issue_competitions.forward.IssueCompetitionContractClient',
+            return_value=contract_client,
+        ),
+    ):
+        _run(issue_competitions(cast(Any, validator), {5: miner_eval}))
+
+    mock_get_coldkey.assert_not_called()
+    contract_client.vote_solution.assert_not_called()
+    contract_client.vote_cancel_issue.assert_called_once_with(
+        issue_id=7,
+        reason='Issue closed externally (not by a registered miner, solver: 999)',
+        wallet=validator.wallet,
+    )