IVN conducted a survey to determine whom independent-minded voters are supporting among the current presidential candidate field. Respondents were asked two questions: (1) If the presidential election were held today, for whom would you vote? (2) What political party, if any, do you think best represents your views?
The poll was promoted to IVN readers who largely self-identify as independent-minded voters. Notably, 51% of IVN's Facebook readers are over the age of 55.
A total of 5,059 respondents participated in the survey. IVN used an approval voting method, which allows voters to choose as many candidates as they want.
A more in-depth cross-tabulation analysis on these results will be conducted in the coming weeks. Here is the overview of the results:IVN Presidential Poll | Create infographics
Interestingly, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump lead the polls, by a significant percent, despite it being an approval voting process. This means that no votes were "taken away" from any candidate because participants could select as many candidates as they wanted.
Also, Democrat Bernie Sanders topped the polls with five Republican candidates between him and the next Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, who garnered just 8.6%. Jeb Bush, despite a high-name ID, only received 1.6%, which is far less than even the Green Party candidate, Jill Stein. Notably, Jill Stein, as the only declared third party candidate in the poll, received 4.8%.
Most national presidential polls survey only high-propensity Democratic or Republican voters. For example, the most recent Washington Post-ABC News National Poll surveyed 1,003 adults and asked only likely Republicans and likely Democrats who they would vote for if the election were held today. The results, for obvious reasons, are much different.
IVN's nonpartisan survey was funded by the Independent Voter Project (IVP), a publisher of IVN. IVP believes that all voters should be treated the same in the election process, regardless of party affiliation. IVP is most well-known for authoring California's Proposition 14, which established a nonpartisan primary system in that state.
This survey is part of IVP's continued effort to understand voter dissatisfaction with their representation and to find better ways to implement a more representative election system.