I remember a local election that was almost tied. So there was a recount. They went over the absentee ballots. One elderly couple received a 2 hour interrogation in their home by the police, the city attorney and an attorney for the incumbent. The wife was in very fragile health and had filled out her ballot but on the envelope there was a spot for her to initial and the husband had written her initials because she forgot. They browbeat them about election fraud and the recount tossed their ballot.

I remember years back in one little township the Town Chairman and Town Clerk had been the same people forever. They would get challengers but never lost the count. It turns out they were the ones doing the counting. As soon as enough of the townspeople were convinced that somebody should "observe" the count along with them guess who got a new Chairman and Clerk the next time the votes were counted?