Dr. craig burnett

Professor

Phone: (561) 297-3211
Email: burnettc@fau.edu

Research: Political Behavior, Direct Democracy, State Politics, Urban Politics, Public Policy (Google Scholar Profile)
Teaching: American Politics, State Politics, Urban Politics, Research Methods, Public Policy

Dr. Craig M. Burnett is Professor and Chair of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University. His research focuses on democratic institutions, voter behavior, and local governance. Specifically, Dr. Burnett explores how structural features of elections—from ballot design to voting systems—shape the way citizens engage with democracy. A central theme throughout Dr. Burnett’s research is examining how democracy functions at both the state and local levels, particularly when voters face complex decisions and have limited information. Within direct democracy, Dr. Burnett shows how ballot language, campaign cues, and elite endorsements influence voter decision-making on initiatives and referendums. He has also investigated the effects of ranked-choice voting, uncovering how ballot exhaustion can undermine voter intent. In urban and local politics, his research shows that voters can use their ordinary day-to-day observations—such as satisfaction with basic services —to inform their votes and that partisan attachments continue to matter in local legislatures even when elections are nonpartisan.