“You know I don’t take checks,” Mr. Dowless said, according to Mr. Dunn, who had worked for the sheriff Mr. McVicker defeated. “They have to pay me cash.”

According to Mr. Dunn, Mr. Dowless also boasted that he had more than 80 people under his command in Mr. Harris’s race. (That figure could not be independently corroborated. Red Dome Group, the consulting firm that contracted with Mr. Dowless on behalf of Mr. Harris’s campaign, did not respond to requests for comment.)

As the state’s investigation into potential fraud continues, people like Jeneva Legions wonder about their voting experiences. Ms. Legions, 30, who lives in the Village Oaks apartments, said she’d had her absentee ballot for a day or two when several women came to her door. One of the women said, ‘Are you Jeneva? I’ve come to get your ballot,’” Ms. Legions said.

When Ms. Legions told them she had not voted yet, one of the women told her she should sign the ballot and fill in her Social Security number. The women left, Ms. Legions said. Not long afterward, one of the women returned.

“I gave it to her,” Ms. Legions said in a telephone interview. “I thought she worked for the county. I thought she was one of the voting people coming to get my ballot.”

Ms. Legions said she had not sealed the envelope when she gave it to the woman. Her ballot, records show, was never returned to elections officials.