That's fair but, fairly generalized. In contrast, it could be said that voter privacy would veil a states exploit of one race easier than having numerous state & local anomalies. This would create more state scrutiny because the local results, especially in rural, small population regions, could be vetted and recounted easily and draw more attention. With an entire state questioning 1 race, you couldn't generate a sizeable group feeling curious, demanding action.

Now, the reason there were alot of questions about results is where trump's flawed personality comes into frame. IMO, if an exploit was implemented, then trump being trump is what lead to the data being researched. There would be 12 or less counties to manipulate in order to have achieved a winning result and leave a minimal footprint; chip-away as you stated. The best exploits are the ones you never or can't easily find. The never fail, admit fault, winner (self-proclaimed), tough guy, Cohn & Stone disciple, womanizing, and desired persona says I'm better than minimal. He wants all the swing states to prove how desired and popular he is when in fact, he was losing his base support before election day. More manipulation would need some offset, i.e. padding both candidates appropriately in their strongholds, patterning data where implemented but this is assuming there will only be scrutiny if any, on the swing states.so, enter that data patterning seen for the first time in election history. Not 1 red county was flipped to blue and all flips in this election were from blue to red, nationwide. Another never-before seen stat in all previous elections. His small ego and ignorance may be the reason this data manipulation was found.