Michael A. Smith
Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University
Areas of Expertise:
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About Michael
Smith’s scholarship focuses on civic engagement and voting laws. He has worked closely with retired U.S. Senator Bob Graham to implement his proposed curriculum at Emporia State University, whose students have done remarkable things in the community using this curriculum. Smith’s research on voting laws analyzes data on voter turnout changes in states with photo ID and proof-of-citizenship voting laws, discovering a troubling drop in voter turnout under these laws, particularly in counties with higher poverty rates. Smith has also been active in More², a Kansas City-based social justice group affiliated with the Gamaliel Foundation.
Contributions
In the News
Quoted by Hunter Woodall in "Embracing Trump, Moving Past Brownback, Colyer Tries to Find His Lane in Governor Run," Kansas City News, July 22, 2018.
Quoted by Hunter Woodall and Mike Hendricks in "Kobach Parade Gun May Be 'Red Meat' for Base, but Would it Hurt in General Election?," The Kansas City Star, June 4, 2018.
Quoted by Hunter Woodall in "As Kris Kobach Attacks, Jeff Colyer Holds Back. Is That a Winning Strategy?," The Kansas City Star, April 26, 2018.
Quoted by Sherman Smith in "Professors: Kansas Governor Race Narrowing, Democrats Could Win Congressional Seats," The Topeka Capital-Journal, April 26, 2018.
Opinion: "Kansas Democrats: Return of the Lunch Bucket Party?," Michael A. Smith, Parsons Sun, March 2, 2018.
Quoted by Hunter Woodall in "Raise Age to Buy an AR-15? Arm Teachers? Here's Where Kansas Governor Candidates Stand," Kansas City Star, February 28, 2018.
Quoted by Jonathan Shorman in "Kansas Governor Candidates Fight to Impress after Colyer Drops out of Debate," The Wichita Eagle, February 17, 2018.
Opinion: "INSIGHT KANSAS: O’Malley for the Moderates," Michael A. Smith, Hays Post, January 25, 2018.
Quoted by Jonathan Shorman in "Kobach Embraces Controversy as Other Candidates Try to Avoid It," The Wichita Eagle, September 30, 2017.
Opinion: "The Real Problems with Voting Today," Michael A. Smith, The Wichita Eagle, August 6, 2017.
Opinion: "Kansas’ Post-Truth Fail Goes National," Michael A. Smith, Ottawa Herald, December 3, 2016.
Quoted by Jesse Wagoner in "Emporia State Breaks Down the Debate," Emporia Gazette, October 10, 2016.
Opinion: "Experience Discredits ‘Anti-Establishment’ Politicians," Michael A. Smith, Ottawa Herald, April 2, 2016.
Quoted by Ariana Cowen in "Emporia State Students Experience Iowa Caucus First-Hand," WIBW, February 1, 2016.
Opinion: "Do Right Thing and Fully Fund Mental Health System," Michael A. Smith, Wichita Eagle, January 8, 2016.
Opinion: "Welcome to the Age of No-Listening Politics," Michael A. Smith, Wichita Eagle, November 27, 2015.
Opinion: "Kobach’s New Math: 3 is Greater than 37,000," Michael A. Smith, Ottawa Herald, October 17, 2015.
Quoted by in "Young Voters, Wichitans Top Kansas’ Suspended Voter List," Wichita Eagle, September 26, 2015.
Quoted by Edward M. Eveld in "Kris Kobach Says Voter Registration without 'Proof of Citizenship' Need to Go," Kansas City Star, August 30, 2015.
Quoted by Bryan Lowry in "Proposed Rule Gives Voters 90-Day Deadline to Show Proof of Citizenship," Wichita Eagle, August 7, 2015.
Guest on NPR: All Things Considered, August 6, 2015.
Quoted by Elle Moxley in "Kansas Sees 'OK' Job Growth as Unemployment Rises," KCUR Public Radio, June 19, 2015.
Guest on KCUR: Private School Boost Tucked into Kansas Senate Tax Plan, June 10, 2015.
Guest on Utah Public Radio, April 24, 2015.
Quoted by Bryan Lowery in "Kansas Lawmakers Swiftly Advance Groundbreaking Changes on Guns, Abortion, School Funding," Wichita Eagle, March 27, 2015.
Quoted by Peter Hancock in "State Rep. Peck Takes on Critics in Debate over University Professor Columns," Lawrence Journal-World, February 18, 2015.
Quoted by in "Bill Would Impact Titles Used in Newspaper Opinion Pieces," Emporia Gazette, February 6, 2015.
Quoted by Evan Hall in "GOP: Utah Must Change Its Primary Election Date," Utah Public Radio, February 3, 2015.
Opinion: "Today’s Fierce Urgency is Voter Mobilization," Michael A. Smith, Hutchinson News, January 25, 2015.
Quoted by Bryan Lowry in "Budget Deficit Looms for Sam Brownback, Kansas Legislature as 2015 Session Begins," Wichita Eagle, January 11, 2015.
Opinion: "Kobach’s Laws Suppressing Votes, Not Fraud," Michael A. Smith, Wichita Eagle, October 19, 2014.
Regular contributions by Michael A. Smith to Insight Kansas.
Publications
"State Voting Laws in America: Historical Statutes and Their Modern Implications" (with ) (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).
Examines state voting laws throughout U.S. history and their impact on voter turnout; discusses contemporary challenges to the voting process including laws complicating voter registration, photo ID and birth certificate requirements, limits on early voting, and restoration of voting rights after a felony conviction.
"What Burke Teaches Us About Defining Representation" Emporia State Research Studies 50, no. 1 (2015): 36-42.
Examines Edmund Burke's political career and discusses contemporary, practical applications of "Burkean" theories and models.
"Teaching Active Citizenship: A Companion to the Traditional Political Science Curriculum" (with ). PS: Political Science and Politics 47, no. 3 (2014): 703-710.
Advocates a new curriculum that can be applied to American government, introduction to political science, and state and local government courses. Responds to the corresponding decrease in the nation’s civic health by proposing three principles: teaching citizenship rather than teaching civics, teaching citizenship by engagement in the “real world,” with students completing projects that take them step by step through the policy-change process, and encouraging future high school government teachers to teach their students the rights, responsibilities, and competencies of active citizenship.
"Bringing Representation Home: State Legislators among Their Constituencies " (University of Missouri Press, 2003).
Uses interviews and observations of twelve state representatives in an effort to better understand and define their approaches to representation, ultimately asking not “what is representation?” but “how can we discover what representation is?”