I've been seeing a lot of it as analogous to gambling addiction:

People focus obsessively on an upside "jackpot" win they expect from their cult leader's promises that's statistically not quite impossible but might as well be. They discuss it as if it's a religious certainty.

People completely blank out the downsides: cost, risk, and the horrible, horrible odds. Downside risk analysis is critical for any important decision, and people completely blank it out even as the downside risks hit with the same frequency as "not winning the lotto."

I think this describes voting very well.