Here’s a straightforward, plain-English explanation of every legal way a dishonest county registrar of voters in California could manipulate a close election—without technically breaking any laws that would automatically trigger felony charges, halt certification, or force a do-over. These are based on real vulnerabilities in the Elections Code, regulations, and standard procedures, as they've been documented in audits, news reports, and expert analyses. I've drawn from actual cases where similar issues happened (though often called "errors" rather than intentional acts).

I'll list them one by one, explaining what the registrar does, how it sways the vote, why it's legal (with specific code references where relevant), and why it's hard to detect or stop. Remember, this assumes a registrar who's unethical but smart—they stay within their discretion and blame everything on "human error" or "vendor issues." No conspiracy needed; just exploiting the gaps in the law. 1. Mass-Mailing Wrong Ballot Styles to Targeted Areas

- What they do: The registrar controls ballot printing and mailing through vendors. They could "accidentally" send the wrong ballot style (e.g., missing local races like city council or school board) to thousands of voters in a precinct that leans against their preferred candidate. Voters fill out what they get and mail it back, unaware.

- **How it sways**: Voters can't vote on key local issues, suppressing turnout for those races. Statewide votes get duplicated later, so overall numbers look fine, but a close local race could flip by hundreds of missing votes.

- Why it's legal: Mailing is required 29 days before Election Day (§3000), but no law mandates perfect accuracy or proactive notifications for style errors. Duplication of wrong ballots is explicitly allowed (§15154). Counties aren't required to report or fix mailing glitches upfront—only react if voters complain.

- Why hard to stop: Voters might not notice (e.g., they skip unfamiliar races). No statewide tracking of wrong-style mailings, and post-election audits don't reconstruct who got what.