Even if voting is done the the old fashioned way it can't be that hard to just switch the box full of genuine votes with one you have prepared earlier.

In places of low turnout you could just suppliment the ballot box with votes. That is the great thing about anonymous ballots its just an 'X' on paper.

i think there is always a time when a ballot box will be in transit to where the votes will be counted. So that would be the best time to do it i reckon.

The media play the most important role though. They practically lead you by the hand telling you who is going to win.

They tell you what the important issues are and frame the whole narrative of the election beforehand and talk the whole time like it is your opinion lol

They tell you which people each candidate appeals to, what their support base is and where all their votes are going to come from. The candidates just need to turn up at the speaking engagements and read the speech to the audience of party devotees.

The media provides all the 'reaction' and assessment of what it all means etc and its all weaved into the ongoing framework.

How people will vote can be easily manipulated most of the time and the media and politicians certaintly know how to do that!

The scariest thought is how little interference with votes might actually be needed. If it is, as long as any interence follows the established narrative then nothing appears amiss.

Even if it doesn't they just need to spin it like 'he/she connected with a this group or that group of voters' or just make a point of saying how you can't always predict how people vote.

You could even rig a huge landslide whether you sold it to the public beforehand or not. You just sensationalise what it means for the country and talk up the future and all that crap.