I am an Associate Professor of Political Science at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. My research has been published in the Journal of Politics, Political Analysis, Political Research Quarterly, Political Behavior, Public Opinion Quarterly, American Politics Research and other journals. My research focuses on election administration and voting behavior in the United States.

In addition to my faculty position at Skidmore, I am the Research Director at the Center for Election Innovation and Research. I have also recently been a Senior Research Officer for a large foundation and a consultant on program design and evaluation for a range of civic organizations. Prior to my academic career, I help leadership positions in several civic organizations.

Prior to Skidmore, I was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami (FL) Assistant Professor of political communication in the Manship School of Mass Communication and Department of Political Science at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA. I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University in 2009.

Election Administration

First, I conduct research on election administration, particularly the effects of changes to permit (and occasionally restrict) pre-Election Day voting alternatives. My recent research on election administration has been in collaboration with the team I lead as Research Director at the Center for Election Innovation and Research, including a wide range of reports on policies and practices related to voter registration, voter list maintenance, voting before election day, and funding of election administration. My academic research includes partnerships with public election agencies to conduct field experiments and analyses of observational data.

Field Experiments on Voter Registration & Voting Participation

Second, I have used large-scale field experiments to better how participation in elections can be increased. I am especially interested in how to effectively communicate about new procedures such as voting by mail (a.k.a. no excuse absentee voting), early in person voting, all-mail voting (a.k.a. postal voting) and Election Day voting. Pre-Election Day voting accounts for more than 60% of ballots cast in recent Presidential Elections, but has received very little attention from scholars. My experiments explore how participation and mobilization differ when voters have options about how to cast their ballot. Additional work with field experiments explore the effect of voter registration programs on participation, the spillover/dispersion of mobilization effects in social networks, and experimental methodology.

Political Persuasion and Campaign Effects

Third, I have used field experiments to explore the effect of persuasive campaign communication about candidates and ballot measures. This research focuses on what types of information citizens recall from persuasive communication, and on the effects of negative advertising.

Other Research

Finally, I have several other projects on various topics, including survey methodology and the consequences of political conventions on local turnout and vote choice.

Applied Politics Background

Before my academic career, I spent more than a decade as a political consultant, campaign manager, and executive director of non-profit and political organizations. I took leave from Skidmore to serve as a Senior Research Officer for a large foundation and currently serve as the Research Director at the Center for Election Innovation and Research. I try to serve as a bridge between scholars and practitioners, often by conducting research in partnership with civic organizations to address research questions with both theoretical and practical implications.