California's Vote Count: How Slowness Invites Suspicion Even When It's Not Sketchy
nytimes.com
California's slow vote counts create a perfect storm for conspiracy thinking — here's the cognitive science explaining why a normal process feels like a cover-up.
Proportionality BiasConspiracy Theory FormationAvailability HeuristicEpistemic Injustice
Theory Briefing
- The LA mayoral primary showed a Republican leading early, then slipping — a pattern that fuels suspicion even when counting is routine.
- Conspiracy theories thrive on ambiguity and delay; slow ballot tabulation gives misinformation the oxygen it needs to spread.
- Understanding proportionality bias helps explain why people assume a dramatic shift in results must have a dramatic, sinister cause.