>Officials count (manually) votes watched by officials from each party. can't rig that.
That is where double-agents come into play, pretending to be one party, but actually a spy for the other party.
It is easy to bribe people, and if they can't be bribed, then blackmailed or coerced.
We are dealing with a mafia organization here.
They will lie, cheat, steal, threaten, murder, whatever it takes to get power & control.
What do you think happens to all of that campaign "donation" money? It is used to bribe people and pay them off for favors. Or it is used to pay the hit men that bump people off who are not cooperative. They start with a family member being bumped off, as a warning.