Hi Tink,
I did not read the whole article, but did spend a bit of time on the evaluation at the end...came upon this idea called a "risk-limiting audit," for instance...anyway, when I was working I KNEW how my job was done best, and there should be people in this field who know how to conduct accurate elections.
"This audit is a statistical sample of paper ballots after an election and is used to mitigate the risk that votes have been changed on the electronic tally. Along with voting solely on paper ballots, experts agree that these audits are the best, most efficient way to double-check the veracity of an election."
My other thoughts might include the destructive effect of fear itself. The addendum did talk about that a bit, also; and fear can lead people into destructive courses. My cousin in Washington State's most conservative heartland sees foreign countries causing conspiracies everywhere in the USA, and I think we must at some level put confidence in our country's historic commitment to freedom, that will prevail.
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Rooster has mentioned that the Russians would prolly have supported Hillary Clinton if they were going to support anybody for President, parallel to your point of how best to polarize, and idk there either, idk which party is most polarizing.