Rate My Professor April Johnson

April Johnson is an Associate Professor of Political Science in the School of Government and International Affairs at Kennesaw State University, a position she has held since 2021, following her tenure as Assistant Professor there from 2015 to 2021. Previously, she served as Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 2014 to 2015. Johnson received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Stony Brook University in 2014, with fields in American Politics, Methodology, and Political Psychology. Her earlier degrees include an M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Georgia Southern University in 2008 and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of North Florida in 2005.

Johnson's research interests encompass electoral behavior, disability politics, political psychology, public opinion, mass media and political communication, experimental research methods, contextual influences, and parties and party systems. Her scholarship examines how disability status influences political attitudes and outcomes. Select publications include "Impairing the Vote: The Effect of State Election Policy on Disabled Voter Turnout" (Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal, 2024, with Wyatt Dunlap), "An Untapped Coalition: Partisanship and Political Participation Among People with Disabilities" (Politics, Groups, and Identities, 2023, with Sierra Powell), "Disability and Election Administration in the United States: Barriers and Improvements" (Policy Studies, 2020, with Sierra Powell), and "A Tale of Two Democrats: How Authoritarianism Divides the Democratic Party" (Journal of Politics, 2018, with others). She has contributed book chapters such as "Conspiracy Thinking" in the Handbook of Democracy and Security (2023). Johnson has earned recognitions including the SGIA Distinguished Early Career Faculty Award (2018-19), RCHSS Project Development Grant (2024), and multiple course development funds. In service, she chairs the SGIA Curriculum Committee (since 2022), serves on the Editorial Board of Political Behavior (2025-2028), and reviews for leading journals like the Journal of Politics and American Political Science Review. Her presentations at conferences such as APSA and MPSA further her impact in the field.