The core difference is that if you trust, say, 5 people. You can quietly send them to 5 random polling stations and get them to relay back what happened. Basic

The core difference is that if you trust, say, 5 people. You can quietly send them to 5 random polling stations and get them to relay back what happened. Basically even the extremely conspiratorial can trust the election if there are observers that can be there from start to finish. Saying "just trust our government's employees" is not a real solution.