Dr. Daniel A. Smith

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University of Florida
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Political Science Department
Associate ProfessorAppointed: 2003

Mailing Address

234 Anderson Hall
Department of Political Science
University of Florida
P.O. Box 117325
Gainesville, Florida 32611-7325
United States

Contact Information

Phone: (352) 392-0262, ext. 279
Fax: (352) 392-8127
dasmith@polisci.ufl.edu
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/dasmith/

Qualifications

Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, Political Science, 1994.
M.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison, Political Science, 1989.
B.A., Pennsylvania State University, International Relations & History, 1988.

Expertise and Research Interests

My research broadly examines the democratic process of American politics, with particular emphasis on institutions and patterns of political participation in the American states.

In 2004, I co-authored with Caroline Tolbert, 'Educated by Initiative: The Effects of Direct Democracy on Citizens and Political Organizations in the American States' (University of Michigan Press). Over the past decade, ballot initiatives - dismantling affirmative action, allowing medical marijuana, term limiting legislators, regulating abortions, cutting taxes, banning gay rights, reforming education, and protecting the environment and animals - have altered public policy and the process of representative government itself in the American states. Rather than investigating the substantive impact of ballot measures on public policy, we focus on how the process of citizen lawmaking affects American democracy and citizenship by educating the electorate and shaping political organizations. Situating the initiative in historical perspective, we critically examine the secondary, educative purposes of the initiative using contemporary data. We explore whether ballot initiatives stimulate voter turnout, civic engagement, and political efficacy among the electorate. We assess how the process of citizen lawmaking may destabilize the attitudes of citizens towards minorities. Finally, we scrutinize how the process may alter the composition and dynamics of interest groups and parties in the states that permit the initiative. We conclude that irrespective of the policy outcomes stemming from successful ballot initiatives, the initiative process has both positive and negative effects on the behavior and attitudes of individuals and political organizations. By highlighting the attendant effects of citizen lawmaking, we are able to reassess the crucial question of whether the initiative threatens to undermine or paradoxically strengthen representative democracy.

My current research also focuses on the role of special interests and poltical parties in direct democracy campaigns and elections. This builds on my past research on tax limitation ballot initiatives in the American states, and the process of direct democracy more broadly. My book, 'Tax Crusaders and the Politics of Direct Democracy'(Routledge, 1998) uses comparative case studies of anti-tax measures to bring into question the populist nature of these ballot initiatives. I use a variety of research techniques, including historical and qualitative approaches and quantitative methods.

I also have a personal interest in Ghana, West Africa. Since 1996, I have run a study abroad program in Ghana, West Africa. The theme of the summer program is history, politics, and economic development. I was a Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of Ghana, Legon during the 2000-01 academic year and served as a Research Associate at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development.

Other Expertise

Board Member, Ballot Initiative Strategy Center Foundation (BISCF), Nonprofit 501 (c)(3), Washington, DC, 2000-
Expert Witness, Campaign Finance Reform, Colorado & California
Expert Witness, Ballot Initiative Reform, Colorado & Florida
Research Associate, Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Accra, Ghana, 2000-01
Consultant, Coalition of Domestic Elections Observers (CODEO), 2000-01
Consultant, International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), 1999-
Consultant, International Student Exchange Program (ISEP), Washington, DC, 1995-97

Keywords

COS Keywords:

American History, Democracy, Economics of Research and Development, Ghana, Labor Relations, Political Economics Or Economy, Political Parties, Political Science, Political Theory, Urban Studies.

Additional Terms:

American History, Campaigns and Elections, Direct Democracy and Ballot Initiatives, Ghana, Government, Labor Relations, Political Parties and Interest Groups, Political Theory, State and Local Government.

Memberships

American Political Science Association
Midwest Political Science Association
Western Political Science Association

Honors and Awards

2000-2001, Senior Fulbright Scholar, Fulbright Scholarship, University of Ghana, Legon

Previous Positions

2000, Associate Professor, University of Denver, Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences, Political Science
1995, Director, University of Denver/University of Ghana, Legon Study Abroad Program
1994-2000, Assistant Professor, University of Denver, Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences, Political Science, Arts and Humanities
1993-1994, Visiting Assistant Professor, West Virginia University
1992-1993, Beloit College, Lecturer

Funding Received

  • American Political Science Association, Small Research Grant: Ballot Initiatives during the Progressive Era: Evidence from California, 1912-1920, $2100, 2002 to 2003.
  • Colorado Endowment for the Humanities: 'The 'Golden Era' of Direct Democracy? Colorado's Election of 1912,', $1000, 2000 to .
  • Faculty Research Fund, "Faux Populism: Populist Entrepreneurs and Populist Moments," Program Support Services, University of Denver, Fall 1996 ($1,120 requested and awarded)
  • Research Grant, West Virginia Institute fo Public Affairs, West Virginia University, $3,000, 1994
  • International Small Grants, "Election Monitor: Ghana Presidential and Parliamentary 1996 Elections," Office of Internationalization, University of Denver, Fall 1996 ($2,000 requested, $800 awarded)
  • Partners in Scholarship: 1997 Winter Quarter Project Proposal, "The Process of Direct Democracy: Parental Rights Amendment," University of Denver, with Robert Herrington, Winter 1997 ($600 requested and awarded)
  • Faculty Research Fund, ''Populist Prophets and the Mass Appeal of Direct Democracy,'' Program Support Services, University of Denver, Spring 1995 ($980 requested, $580 awarded)

Publications

  • Todd Donovan, Christopher Z. Mooney, and Daniel A. Smith (2008) State and Local Politics: Institutions and Reform., 1st Edition, Boston, Thomson/Wadsworth, In Press
  • Daniel A. Smith and Caroline J. Tolbert (2007) The Instrumental and Educative Effects of Ballot Measures: Research on Direct Democracy in the American States, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, 7 (4), 417-446
  • Daniel A. Smith, Matthew DeSantis, and Jason Kassel (2006) Same-Sex Marriage Ballot Measures and the 2004 Presidential Election, State and Local Government Review, 38 (2), 78-91
  • Caroline J. Tolbert and Daniel A. Smith (2006) Representation and Direct Democracy in the United States, Representation: The Journal of Representative Democracy, 42 (1), 25-44
  • Caroline J. Tolbert and Daniel A. Smith (2005) The Educative Effects of Ballot Initiatives on Voter Turnout, American Politics Research, 33 (2), 88-110
  • Elisabeth Garrett and Daniel A. Smith (2005) Veiled Political Actors and Campaign Disclosure Laws in Direct Democracy, Election Law Journal, 4 (4), 295-328
  • Daniel A. Smith and Caroline J. Tolbert, Educated by Initiative: the Effects of Direct Democracy on Citizens and Political Organizations in the American States, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2004
  • Daniel A. Smith, Overturning Term Limits: The Legislature’s Own Private Idaho?, PS: Political Science and Politics, 36(2), 215-220, 2003
  • Caroline J. Tolbert, Ramona McNeal, and Daniel A. Smith, Enhancing Civic Engagement: The Effect of Direct Democracy on Political Participation and Knowledge, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, 3(1), 23-41, 2003
  • Daniel A. Smith and Joseph Lubinski, Direct Democracy During the Progressive Era: A Crack in the Populist Veneer?, Journal of Policy History, 14(3), 2002
  • Daniel A. Smith, Ghana's 2000 Elections: Consolidating Multi-Party Democracy, Electoral Studies, 21(3), 2002
  • Daniel A. Smith, 'Homeward Bound? Micro-Level Legislative Responsiveness to Ballot Initiatives', State Politics and Policy Quarterly, 1(1), 50-61, March 2001
  • Daniel A. Smith and Caroline J. Tolbert, The Initiative to Party: Partisanship and Ballot Initiatives in California, Party Politics, 7(6), 781-799, 2001
  • Caroline Tolbert, John Grummel, and Daniel A. Smith, The Effect of Ballot Initiatives on Voter Turnout in the American States, American Politics Research, 29(6), 625-648, 2001
  • Daniel A. Smith and Robert J. Herrington, 'The Process of Direct Democracy: Colorado's 1996 Parental Rights Amendment.', Social Science Journal, 37(2), 179-94, 2000
  • Daniel A. Smith, 'Reevaluating the Causes of Proposition 13.', Social Science History, 23(2), 173-210, 1999
  • Daniel A. Smith, Tax Crusaders and the Politics of Direct Democracy, New York: Routledge, 1998
  • Daniel A. Smith, Kevin M. Leyden, and Stephen A. Borrelli, Predicting the Outcomes of Presidential Commissions: Evidence from the Johnson and Nixon Years, Presidential Studies Quarterly, 28(2), 269-285, 1998
  • Daniel A. Smith, Removing the Pluralist Blinders: Labor-Management Councils and Industrial Policy in the American States, Economic Development Quarterly, 7(4), 373-389, 1993

Profile Details

Last Updated: 10/9/2007

COS Expertise ID #304798
Reference this profile directly: http://myprofile.cos.com/smithd98