There is certainly a lot of information out there that seems to support your option #2, and it's strange to me why it is being shot down at the courts without even being looked at.
I wonder if the courts are afraid IF they look at the evidence and it does show a huge problem, they would have to legally announce Trump DID win, and then ... 40% of the country would feel the court system 'selected' the President. The consequences of that could be a civil war. I have to wonder if that is what keeps the courts from looking at the evidence.
Who knows.
KC
The courts, in their zeal to appear to be anything but what they are -- political -- have to dig very deep to find the reasoning behind their decision(s) to avoid that issue no matter what.
The courts have the luxury of finding any sort of minutiae to avoid confronting the problem. Which, seems to me, makes them fundamentally lazy and unwilling to tackle tough problems.
At least SCOTUS made a decision back in 2000 to be the final arbiter. That took guts. This particular SCOTUS is a bunch of pussies.
I won't even begin to discuss the lower courts and their decisions in the various swing states. That defies description.