Craig M. Burnett

Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science, Florida Atlantic University

Research

My work asks how people decide when the ballot gives them little to go on: what voters learn about ballot measures, how they read party labels and endorsements, and what the rules structuring an election do to the choices available to them. A related line asks what political knowledge is and whether we measure it well.

Requesting a copy. Links below go to the publisher’s page. I cannot post the published PDFs here, but if an article is behind a paywall, email me at burnettc@fau.edu and I will send you a copy. Items marked full text are freely available.

Peer-reviewed articles

  1. [28] “Machine Monopoly Politics in Nassau County, NY,” with Sara Bornstein. State and Local Government Review, published online 2025. Journal →
  2. [27] “Racial Populism, Partisan Spillover, and Americans’ Quest for Citizen Education Policy Control: Implications for European Democracies,” with Alexandra Filindra. Journal of European Public Policy 33, no. 1 (2026): 189–217. Journal →
  3. [26] “The Emergence of the Second Amendment Sanctuary Movement: Partisan Federalism, Not White Protectionism,” with Alexandra Filindra and Cassidy Reller. Publius: The Journal of Federalism 55, no. 1 (2025): 3–29. Journal →
  4. [25] “Do Nonpartisan Ballots Racialize Candidate Evaluations in Low-Information Elections? Evidence from ‘Who Said What’ Experiments,” with Vladimir Kogan. Party Politics 28, no. 3 (2022): 541–553. Journal →
  5. [24] “Public Approval, Policy Issues, and Partisanship in the American Presidency: Examining the 2019–2020 Trump Impeachment and Acquittal,” with Meena Bose. PS: Political Science and Politics 55, no. 2 (2022): 266–274. Journal →
  6. [23] “The Inconsequence of Negative Statehouse Evaluations on Ballot Measures: Evidence from Survey Experiments,” with Janine Parry. Electoral Studies 71 (2021): 1–8. Journal →
  7. [22] “Do High-Profile Copartisans Help or Hurt? Obama, Beebe, and Arkansas’s 2012 Legislative Contests,” with Jay Barth and Janine A. Parry. Midsouth Political Science Review 21 (2021): 1–22. Full text →
  8. [21] “Direct Democracy, Educative Effects, and the (Mis)Measurement of Ballot Measure Awareness,” with Jay Barth and Janine A. Parry. Political Behavior 42 (2020): 1015–1034. Journal →
  9. [20] “Parties as an Organizational Force on Nonpartisan City Councils.” Party Politics 25, no. 4 (2019): 594–608. Journal →
  10. [19] “Information and Direct Democracy: What Voters Learn about Ballot Measures and How It Affects Their Votes.” Electoral Studies 57, no. 1 (2019): 223–244. Journal →
  11. [18] “Is Political Knowledge Unique?” with Mathew D. McCubbins. Political Science Research and Methods (2018): 1–8. Journal →
  12. [17] “An Exploration of How Partisanship Impacts Council-Manager Systems,” with Christopher R. Prentice. Politics and Policy 46, no. 3 (2018): 392–415. Journal →
  13. [16] “The Politics of Potholes: Service Quality and Retrospective Voting in Local Elections,” with Vladimir Kogan. Journal of Politics 79, no. 1 (2017): 302–314. Journal →
  14. [15] “Reconsidering the Construct Validity of Political Knowledge.” Critical Review 28, no. 3–4 (2016): 265–286. Journal →
  15. [14] “Exploring the Difference in Participants’ Factual Knowledge between Online and In-person Survey Modes.” Research and Politics 3, no. 2 (2016): 1–7. Full text →
  16. [13] “The Personal Politics of Same-Sex Marriage,” with Aaron King. Politics and Policy 43, no. 4 (2015): 586–610. Journal →
  17. [12] “Voter Knowledge and Candidates’ Judicial Philosophies,” with Lydia Tiede. Justice System Journal 36, no. 1 (2015): 49–62. Journal →
  18. [11] “Party Labels and Vote Choice in Judicial Elections,” with Lydia Tiede. American Politics Research 42, no. 2 (2015): 232–254. Journal →
  19. [10] “When Does Ballot Language Influence Voter Choices? Evidence from a Survey Experiment,” with Vladimir Kogan. Political Communication 32, no. 1 (2015): 109–126. Journal →
  20. [9] “Ballot (and Voter) ‘Exhaustion’ under Instant Runoff Voting: An Examination of Four Ranked-Choice Elections,” with Vladimir Kogan. Electoral Studies 37, no. 1 (2015): 41–49. Journal →
  21. [8] “Local Logrolling? Assessing the Impact of Legislative Districting in Los Angeles,” with Vladimir Kogan. Urban Affairs Review 50, no. 5 (2014): 648–671. Journal →
  22. [7] “Gubernatorial Endorsements and Ballot Measure Approval,” with Janine A. Parry. State Politics and Policy Quarterly 14, no. 2 (2014): 178–195. Journal →
  23. [6] “Sex and the Ballot Box: Perception of Ballot Measures Regarding Same-Sex Marriage and Abortion in California,” with Mathew D. McCubbins. Journal of Public Policy 34, no. 1 (2014): 3–33. Journal →
  24. [5] “Gaming Direct Democracy: How Voters’ Views of Job Performance Interact with Elite Endorsements of Ballot Measures,” with Mathew D. McCubbins. California Journal of Politics and Policy 5, no. 4 (2013): 627–643. Full text →
  25. [4] “Does Campaign Spending Help Voters Learn about Ballot Measures?” Electoral Studies 31, no. 1 (2013): 78–89. Journal →
  26. [3] “Familiar Choices: Reconsidering the Institutional Effects of the Direct Initiative,” with Vladimir Kogan. State Politics and Policy Quarterly 12, no. 2 (2012): 204–224. Journal →
  27. [2] “Do Blacks and Whites See Obama through Race-Tinted Glasses? A Comparison of Obama’s and Clinton’s Approval Ratings,” with Marisa A. Abrajano. Presidential Studies Quarterly 42, no. 2 (2012): 363–375. Journal →
  28. [1] “The Dilemma of Direct Democracy,” with Elizabeth Garrett and Mathew D. McCubbins. Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy 9, no. 4 (2010): 305–324. Journal →

Law reviews, chapters, and other publications

  1. [5] “Technology, Tradition, and ‘the Terror of the People,’” with Darrell A. H. Miller, Alexandra Filindra, and Noah Kaplan. Notre Dame Law Review 99, no. 4 (2024): 1373–1424. Full text →
  2. [4] Review of Reforming the City: The Contested Origins of Urban Government, 1890–1930 by Ariane Liazos. Political Science Quarterly 136, no. 2 (2021): 387–389. Journal →
  3. [3] Government and Politics in New York State. Custom edition for CQ Press / Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2017.
  4. [2] “Marriage on the Ballot: An Analysis of Same-Sex Marriage Referendums in North Carolina, Minnesota, and Washington During the 2012 Elections,” with Mathew D. McCubbins. Chapman Law Review 19, no. 1 (2016): 1–34. Full text →
  5. [1] “When Common Wisdom Is Neither Common Nor Wisdom: Exploring Voters’ Limited Use of Endorsements on Three Ballot Measures,” with Mathew D. McCubbins. Minnesota Law Review 97, no. 5 (2013): 1557–1595. Full text →

Citations and coauthor links are collected at Google Scholar and ORCID. The full CV lists conference presentations, grants, and service.