Truthsmack #25: New Year in conspiracy studies

How None of the Above won the election, fraud and Iran

Happy New Year (of the Snake) from the Center for Conspiracy Studies, an honest-to-God effort to support journalists and other researchers in the empirical study of conspiracy theories. Another election, another explosion of counter-narratives – lots of connecting without a lot of dots. Here are a few:

How None of the Above won the election

The final results of the November presidential election, accepted by Congress on Jan. 6, show 49.8 percent of voters rallied around Donald Trump – or did they? Like all statistics, election numbers depend on what is and isn't included in the equation. About 62 percent of the country's 244,666,890 eligible voters didn't register, didn't vote, or voted but didn't punch a chad for either Trump or Kamala Harris.

These 92 million eligible voters – let's call them “The Undervoters” – essentially abstained, unified in their support of “None of the Above” by 1) not registering to vote in the first place, (2) registering but not casting a ballot, (3) voting for a third-party or write-in candidate, or (4) just leaving the race blank.

In terms of sheer numbers, more people preferred None of the Above to either Harris or Trump: 92 million non-votes to Trump's 77 million or Harris' 75 million.

The “voting-eligible population” comprises everyone who fulfills the requirements to register to vote, such as being at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen and not currently in prison for a felony. For the recent presidential election, the University of Florida's Election Lab figured 244,666,890 people were eligible to vote. About 186,500,000 of these indeed registered, according to USAFacts. That's close to a 76-percent sign-up nationwide, with 24 percent passing on participation for whatever reasons.

Then there's a second issue of voter turnout. A lot of people who registered to vote didn't mail or otherwise turn in a ballot. When you read election returns that indicate Trump, for example, won 49.8 percent of the vote, it's almost 50 percent of the 76 percent of eligible voters who actually registered. If we include in our universe the Undervoters who didn't register, then Trump won 77,302,580 of a total possible 244,666,890 votes – 31.5 percent. The Undervoters made up the biggest block (42 percent) of the voter pool.