Election Folklore

Every close election since 1960 has spawned rigging lore from whichever side lost. Courts keep asking the folklore for evidence; the folklore keeps arriving empty-handed and undiminished.

Election folklore: the standing genre of stolen-election claims — 1960's 'Daley stole Illinois' (historians: contested, probably not decisive), 2000's Florida (documented: the recount stopped by court order; media consortium review found outcome depended on standard), 2004's Diebold lore, 2020's industrialized version (60+ court losses, agency declarations of security, nine-figure defamation settlements by broadcasters). Documented pattern: real irregularities exist at the margin of every large election; the folklore's move is promoting the margin to the outcome. The map files the genre, not a verdict.