The important thing to remember about hacking the upcoming presidential election is that the hacks don’t have to be successful, they just have to be visible. Attempted hacking is just as good as actual hacking and a lot easier.

Why? Because the reason for the whole hacking conversation started by Donald Trump is simply to give him a way to put the election results in doubt. A news story about cyber attacks on polling stations is all he needs, and the press is going to play right into this. If the cyber attacks are not visible, they won’t be of much use.

Never mind that the only hacking so far in the election has been in support of Trump by the Russians. If he looses due to the actual vote, he will claim that the electoral system has been hacked.

If he wins, he will say that he would have won bigger had there not been any hacking, even if the truth is the opposite. He has not really been overly concerned with the facts during this campaign.

If Donald Trump starts sinking in the polls, look for him to step up the hacking references. And look for the Russians to do some clumsy hacking on election day to help him out.