You have a short-term perspective. Republics often last longer than a human lifetime. They should prepare for scenarios that happen once every few centuries. T

You have a short-term perspective. Republics often last longer than a human lifetime. They should prepare for scenarios that happen once every few centuries. The most important aspect of elections is that the vast majority of losers accept the outcome. If they don't, the elections failed. It doesn't really matter if there was fraud or if the losers just don't accept the result. The fundamental reason is the same in both cases: too many citizens don't support the system.