So when a crowd of about 500 people showed up last week, some waving American flags, carrying bullhorns and lifting signs questioning the presidential election, Bruce Breton knew things were about to change.

"I've never seen anything like this before," said Breton, who has served on the board for 18 years. "The groundswell from the public is unbelievable."

The crowd at the Monday meeting had been fired up by conservative media, which in recent weeks has seized on the town's election results for four seats in the state House as suspect. The attention, fanned by a Donald Trump adviser who happens to be a Windham resident, has helped a routine recount spiral, ultimately engulfing the town in a false theory that the national election was stolen from Trump.