Excellent question. How to handle allegations.......
Under the United States Constitution, the states are delegated the initial and principal authority for the administration of elections within their jurisdictions, including elections to federal office. Such election administration in the states would generally include provisions for recounts, challenges, or contests to the results of such elections in the state that may be filed by the appropriate parties within a specific time frame and procedure established by state law.
An election contest, however, usually addresses allegations of fraud in voting, or mistake or irregularity in election administration, that has resulted in the wrong candidate having been found to have received the most votes in the election, or which has made the ascertainment of the winner āreasonably uncertain.ā Courts have been historically cautious in interfering with and overturning the results of a popular election on the basis of allegations of fraud or election irregularities.
As is the case in general with civil law suits under American jurisprudence, the burden of proof is upon the challenger, that is, the moving party, not only to prove all of the allegations and charges with specific, credible evidence,10 but alsoāin the case of an election contestāto show that any fraud or irregularity proven was to such an extent that it would actually have changed the result of the election or rendered the actual outcome reasonably uncertain.