Forward Podcast: Do Voters Really Care About Democracy?

Published: 13 Jun, 2023
1 min read

In his most recent podcast, former presidential candidate and Foward Party Founder Andrew Yang sat down with Citizen Data CEO Mindy Finn to discuss what voters really want, according to the data -- and what the data shows is voters want better elections.

Citizen Data is a nonpartisan research and analytics company that, in Finn's words, "recognized the need for better nonpartisan data in the political sphere." Pollsters and data analysts have long approached political and social topics from the perspective of red versus blue. In other words, they focus on division.

Finn says her company is focused on data and analytics that can bridge divides.

Politicos have long approached the issue of democracy as something voters do not care about. Yet, what Citizen Data has found is elections-- and more specifically election reform -- and protecting democracy are increasingly the top issues for people across the political spectrum.

Citizen Data, for example, recently released new data that shows most voters want to rank their options in presidential primaries. Overall, voters want more choice in elections, and they want the process to be fair to all voters, regardless of political affiliation or lack thereof.

Yang and Finn talk about Citizen Data's research and polling, as well as Finn's experience as a vice presidential running mate. She ran in 2016 on an independent ticket alongside Evan McMullen. Check out the full conversation above.

You Might Also Like

Why Neither Side Wants the Truth About Voter ID
Why Neither Side Wants the Truth About Voter ID
Voter ID is treated like a five-alarm fire in American politics. That reaction says more about our dysfunctional political system than it does about voter ID itself. ...
06 Feb, 2026
-
3 min read
Oklahoma Independents Drive Massive Push to Open Primaries With State Question 836
Oklahoma Independents Drive Massive Push to Open Primaries With State Question 836
While much of the U.S. was slammed with severe winter weather over the weekend, volunteers for Oklahoma State Question 836 – which would end the use of taxpayer-funded closed primaries – made a final push to get their campaign to over 200,000 petition signatures....
27 Jan, 2026
-
3 min read
NEW POLL: California Governor’s Race Sees “None of the Above” Beat the Entire Democratic Field
NEW POLL: California Governor’s Race Sees “None of the Above” Beat the Entire Democratic Field
A new statewide poll conducted by the Independent Voter Project finds California’s independent voters overwhelmingly support the state’s nonpartisan primary system and express broad dissatisfaction with the direction of state politics....
12 Jan, 2026
-
4 min read