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This is the fifth and final post in our series about some of the benefits of the Electoral College. We have covered how it contains disputes, keeps power in the states, makes results more decisive, and pushes parties to build larger coalitions. Today, we consider something that is on many voters’ minds: How do we know if an election is honest and fair?

The Electoral College helps to make elections more trustworthy. This is because of the nature of “swing” states.

Remember that every state matters. Political parties are only “nation” because so many voters in “safe” states already strongly support them. Those safe-state voters are the foundation of their party, making it possible for their candidates to reach out to more evenly divided swing states.

When we have a close election, the result will come down to what happens in the most politically balanced states—which is very good, because those states are likely to have the most political accountability. Why is that?

Because in a balanced state, both parties are likely to have some power. This is much better—for accountability—than when one party has all the power. 

If divided government is good for anything, it’s accountability. The way the Electoral College works out, when we do wind up with a razor-thin margin, at least it is likely to happen in a state where both parties have some power, rather than in a state where one party controls everything.

If you missed any of our posts this week, here are links to consider a few more of the benefits of our Electoral College.

• Election disputes are contained within individual states;
• Because states are in charge, presidents don’t control elections;
• The Electoral College usually produces more decisive results; and
• Our political parties are big, diverse, national coalitions.

For a simple description of the presidential election process, with a timeline and map, visit ElectoralCollege101.com.

Part of this article is adapted from the Encounter Broadside book, Why We Must Defend the Electoral College, by Trent England.