How to tell your election was rigged!?

The scope of the artificial
This covers on the election day frauds like ballot stuffing and ballot counting fraud, reduced access to poling stations, destroying votes, phiscal violence on and about the voting day, voter bribary, corrupted hustings and a bias press coverage.

It dose not cover long term cronyism, slush funds, penetration by organized crime, coups, gerrymandering, corruption, puges, Nepotisum, 1 party states or intrinsically unfair voting systems such as Apartheid Whites only elections.

How it is done
In many countries with weak rule of law, the most common reason why elections do not meet international standards of being "free and fair" is interference from the incumbent government. Dictator s may use the powers of the executive (police, martial law, censorship, physical implementation of the election mechanism, etc.) to remain in power despite popular opinion in favor of removal. Members of a particular faction in a legislature may use the power of the majority or supermajority (passing criminal laws, defining the electoral mechanisms including eligibility and district boundaries) to prevent the balance of power in the body from shifting to a rival faction due to an election.

Non-governmental entities can also interfere with elections, through physical force, verbal intimidation, or fraud, which can result in improper casting or counting of votes. Monitoring for and minimizing electoral fraud is also an ongoing task in countries with strong traditions of free and fair elections. Problems that prevent an election from being "free and fair" take various forms.

Lack of open political debate or an informed electorate
The electorate may be poorly informed about issues or candidates due to lack of freedom of the press, lack of objectivity in the press due to state or corporate control, and/or lack of access to news and political media. Freedom of speech may be curtailed by the state, favoring certain viewpoints or state propaganda.

Unfair rules
Gerrymandering, exclusion of opposition candidates from eligibility for office, needlessly high restrictions on who may be a candidate, like ballot access rules, and manipulating thresholds for electoral success are some of the ways the structure of an election can be changed to favor a specific faction or candidate.

Interference with campaigns
Those in power may arrest or assassinate candidates, suppress or even criminalize campaigning, close campaign headquarters, harass or beat campaign workers, or intimidate voters with violence.

Tampering with the election mechanism
This can include confusing or misleading voters about how to vote, violation of the secret ballot, ballot stuffing , tampering with voting machines, destruction of legitimately cast ballots, voter suppression , voter registration fraud, failure to validate voter residency, fraudulent tabulation of results, and use of physical force or verbal intimation at polling places.

Other examples include persuading candidates into not standing against them, such as through blackmailing, bribery, intimidation or physical violence.

Over 100% turnouts
If the total results for all the candidates added together equals more than the total electorate in the voting district (a turn out of over 100%), then it is obvious that ballot stuffing and\or counting fraud has occurred and no one has even bothered to cover it up.

Californian electric ones
One version of the California-based Sequoia touchscreen voting machine has a yellow button on the back side which, when pressed, allows repeated voting. It is designed so that pressing the button triggers two audible beeps so as to warn the poling stations staff that the voter was cheating.

Also see

 * 1) Science
 * 2) Help desk
 * 3) A political diorama
 * 4) What is a coup d'état?
 * 5) Codeine addiction help notes
 * 6) How Governments become Authoritarian
 * 7) How to save your PC during Cyber-war\E-warfair
 * 8) Suspected or known fraudulent elections (according to Wikipedia).