The line forms before sunrise. A community center gym fills with folding chairs, blue curtains, and the hum of a tired generator. People hold coffee cups, explain to children why they must wait, and carry three-ring binders with sample ballots. It is an American ritual—the small, ordinary act of leaving a mark on a piece of paper. But this year, the ritual feels different. The anticipation that usually comes with Election Day has been replaced by something heavier: a persistent, uneasy worry that the vote may not count. CBS News has documented two forces feeding that worry, actions from the…

It began like any other ordinary moment in downtown Albuquerque. A man was out walking his dog near the intersection of First Street and Copper Avenue, likely enjoying the crisp October air and the rhythm of an everyday routine, when his attention was pulled toward something that did not belong there—something small, fragile, and deeply unsettling. What he found would set off a chain of events that no one could have predicted, and that would soon spiral far beyond the quiet corner where it all started. Police were called to the scene, the area took on the quiet gravity of…