Electoral Innovations, From Rewiring Redistricting to Modern Voter Guides

What’s it like to run against a $5 million outside money machine in 2026?

Rob sat down with Sam Wang, Professor of Neuroscience at Princeton, who has spent two decades building tools to diagnose what’s broken in American democracy: the Princeton Election Consortium, the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, and the Electoral Innovation Lab. His gerrymandering scholarship has even been cited approvingly by the Supreme Court, which then declined to act on it.

This year he became the subject of his own research when he ran for Congress in NJ-12, finishing third in a crowded 12-candidate primary. The lesson that surprised him most wasn’t fundraising or endorsements but the scale. Reaching 770,000 constituents, he says, “gave me a whole new look at the role of money and how candidates reach people.” Sam and Rob talk about ways to incentivize engagement with voters like modern voter guides, endorsements on the ballot, and ranked choice voting.

The conversation also traces how Sam pioneered aggregating polls to forecast outcomes and became a redistricting authority and reform catalyst He previews two new projects: Vote Maximizer, showing where votes carry the most leverage, and a 50-State Playbook for reform where he invites listeners to get involved.

You’re not gonna want to miss this one!

Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: