Hello! I’m Andy Ballard. I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Florida State University.

I study American politics and am particularly interested in legislative institutions, political parties, and the interplay between legislators and the public. Some of the over-arching questions I’m working to answer are: Why do minority parties have influence over legislation? How do party goals drive legislative behavior? Why are some legislators and citizens more willing to compromise politically? What are the causes and consequences of polarizing and uncivil rhetoric from legislators? Papers on these topics have been published in the American Political Science Review, The Journal of Politics, Legislative Studies Quarterly, and more. I have a book under contract with Oxford University Press and another book manuscript in preparation.

You can find descriptions of some current projects here . My CV has links to all my publications, and to working papers where available.