If it was something that was done at local level, not in conspiracy with central government, then why the investigations in cases of election fraud are so ineffective, and even if the case gets to the court, it typically ends with just a fine? If the central government didn't have relation to the fraud, they would prefer to punish local officials, yet they try to avoid doing it.
Instead, they warn heads of regions that the results of election in their region might affect their evaluation.
Regarding things you have described, they are possible with electronic voting as well. Hashes not matching? You probably made a mistake, verify again, our experts say that everything is correct.
Also, for an average person, seeing a video recording with officials throwing a pack of ballots into the box is easier to understand than some difficult calculations with hashes.
> If it was something that was done at local level, not in conspiracy with central government, then why the investigations in cases of election fraud are so ineffective, and even if the case gets to the court, it typically ends with just a fine? If the central government didn't have relation to the fraud, they would prefer to punish local officials, yet they try to avoid doing it. Instead, they warn heads of regions that the results of election in their region might affect their evaluation.
Maybe I misunderstood your phrasing but that's precisely what enables large-scale fraud. High-ranking officials can maintain plausible deniability by outsourcing fraud to the local level and doing nothing overt themselves. If low-level officials are caught, they suffer token punishment because some semblance of rule of law must be maintained (but punishment cannot be too strict because they were doing what they were supposed to do).
> Regarding things you have described, they are possible with electronic voting as well. Hashes not matching? You probably made a mistake, verify again, our experts say that everything is correct.
Right, but if you have evidence that say 10% of votes are tainted, it is something worth fighting for and going to the streets for. Whereas if all you have is a recording of a handful of ballots thrown into a box at some poll station in rural Yakutia, well who cares about a few 100s of ballots? You can try to string a few of these videos together to provoke an emotional reaction but it will subside quickly as public attention will be redirected to the next outrage du jour.
If it was something that was done at local level, not in conspiracy with central government, then why the investigations in cases of election fraud are so ineffective, and even if the case gets to the court, it typically ends with just a fine? If the central government didn't have relation to the fraud, they would prefer to punish local officials, yet they try to avoid doing it.
Instead, they warn heads of regions that the results of election in their region might affect their evaluation.
Regarding things you have described, they are possible with electronic voting as well. Hashes not matching? You probably made a mistake, verify again, our experts say that everything is correct.
Also, for an average person, seeing a video recording with officials throwing a pack of ballots into the box is easier to understand than some difficult calculations with hashes.