Research finds presidential election 80% more likely to not go your way if you stop watching coverage
- Mackenzie Moore
- Nov 5, 2024
- 2 min read

As millions of Americans begin to return home from work, many are beginning to tune into coverage of the presidential election. While most are likely to switch channels or even go to bed before late tonight, a new study warns that each individual's choice to stop watching actually has much more of an impact than their vote.
"Yeah, voting's important, but staying glued to the TV is what really counts," said Gretchen Lyons, a political rhetoric professor at the University of California-Berkeley.
Some choose not to follow along until the numbers start rolling in, something Lyons says is an incredibly dangerous mindset.
"Though there's still risk associated with disengaging early on in the vote counting process, the odds of an election swaying as a result increase from 50% to at least 80% as the night proceeds," relayed Lyons, making sure to clarify that the conclusion is more likely to take days, if not weeks.
In fact, the more questionable a state's outcome is — including Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and several others — the higher the odds are that switching to a comfort watch will be detrimental to the entire nation.
"What we're seeing is that people won't get the results they're hoping for unless they're willing to be put under extreme stress, much like one might experience if they were running away from a grizzly bear," explained Eric Cobb, a professor from the University of Michigan.
Even responding to natural human urges is no escape.
"The powers that be understand that the body needs to go to the bathroom from time to time. Even so, it's crucial that people wait until they can't hold it anymore and run back to the couch. Better yet, they should make sure coverage is loaded up on their smartphone so they can take it on the go," offered Cobb.
The news may be unfortunate, but not shocking to many who already had a hunch, just as fans experience on Super Bowl Sunday if they go to grab a beer during a play. The key is to rest assured — there is no escape. Lean in.
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Photo courtesy of Wonderlane via CC BY 2.0
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