It happened exactly as you state. I was incredulous as many were. It started with the surprise Arizona call as though it was the signal that the fix was on.
This time the Democrats had a back-up plan. I am convinced that all the various forms of fraud were present for Hillary, too. There was the glowing run--up to the election in the MSM, replete with polls that sure seemed skewed from out here in flyover country.
And I think the fix was in, but the Democrats underestimated the resonance Trump found with ordinary, workaday Americans, his ability to harness the frustration with (and even anger toward) a government that has been seriously out of touch with its employers, and there just wasn't enough margin set to prevail.
They got the points spread wrong, and she lost, despite their efforts.
Not this time.
This time, they'd done their homework, and knew which States (with lagging counts) would have to be 'converted' to win, so they shut down those states, re-did the tabulation algorithms, and proceeded to do what Democrats do when they don't have a marketable idea--cheat. And cheat they did.
I have little doubt that (so far, anyway) that is the crime of the century, (not far behind the murderous responses to COVID), but still yet to tally all its fruits.
I do not know what the solution is, but the problem is clear.