Zachary Albert (POL) discussed how American politics would be impacted by the various policies and voting restrictions passed in recent times, in a BrandeisNow interview. Of particular concern was the fact that most voting restrictions were enacted almost entirely along partisan lines. 

“Increasing polarization of both major parties in the U.S. has only made it more important to understand the motivations and structures of parties and how they affect politics,” Albert said. Although he began his career with an interest in third parties, and why they have seen very little success, he soon realized that the heart of American politics lies in partisanship. 

“In a two-party system, you need two strong, responsible parties to check the other party. What healthy parties do is they expand their appeal to bring in other voters. Instead, there seems to be a long-term trend for Republicans to not say ‘we’re going to bring in more people who support us, we’re going to try to restrict the other side,’” said Albert. 

According to the Brennan Center for Justice’s 2021 roundup, 2021 saw the most restrictions passed since 2011. Overall, there were 19 states that passed laws that restricted voting, 16 states that passed laws that expanded access and eight states that passed mixed laws.

Although a lot of states are making it harder to enact voting restrictions, however the trend, that Albert points out, is that this happens in states in which voting is already harder. “While Republican states are making it increasingly harder to vote, Democratic states are making it easier to vote,” noted Albert. 

The largest issue of 2020 was mail-in voting and ballot drop-off locations, according to Albert. These are all crucial factors in determining how individuals are able to vote, however, this is not his largest concern regarding the new laws. What truly concerns Albert is the politicization of election administration. It is “the laws targeting election administration and the process used in counting ballots. These laws are changing who is in charge and what types of challenges can be made after an election. It’s not just about who gets to vote, but who counts those ballots.” 

He mentioned Georgia and Arizona instituted procedures that would allow for election results to be overturned. “Arizona and Georgia were states that helped decide the election, and we see that there are more people running for election-administration positions who are committed to the big lie of the rigged election,” said Albert. 

He predicts an “uphill climb for Democrats in 2022 and beyond.” However, he is concerned about how the new voting restrictions are going to affect the elections. Although voting restrictions are going to reduce the amount of voting for both parties, there is no guarantee that the impact will be equal on both parties. “There’s a lot of research that shows these laws especially affect certain kinds of people who generally fall into the Democratic camp,” said Albert. 

Albert is an Assistant Professor of Politics, whose expertise is in political campaigns and public policymaking. He received his B.A. from Fairfield University and his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Currently, he is working on two books: “the first examines the impact of partisan polarization on policy research efforts by interest groups and think tanks, while the second investigates the positive and negative aspects of ‘small-donor democracy,’” according to his faculty page. 

He teaches Quantitative Methods for Policy Analysis, Political Parties and Interest Groups, Elections in America and The Politics of Policymaking.