Kenneth P. Miller

Who is Kenneth P. Miller?

Kenneth P. Miller is a professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College specializing in California politics, direct democracy, and state constitutional law. Miller is the Associate Director of the Rose Institute of State and Local Government, a research institute known for its expertise in redistricting, elections, demographic research, and public policy analysis. In 2011-2012, Miller served as the Ann and Herbert W. Vaughan Visiting Fellow at Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.

Miller has a B.A. from Pomona College where he majored in Government, a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D in political science from the University of California at Berkeley.

Prior to his academic career, Miller was an attorney with the law firm Morrison & Foerster and in 1991 co-founded the firm’s Sacramento office.

Miller is the author or coauthor of several books and articles regarding California politics and direct democracy. His Direct Democracy and the Courts, which examines the initiative process and judicial review within the checks and balances system, has been called “the standard work on the relationship between the judiciary and direct democracy.” He also coauthored The New Political Geography of California, which examines the demographic features of California's changing political landscape. His articles include "The Democratic Coalition’s Religious Divide: Why California Voters Supported Obama but not Same-sex Marriage," Revue française d’études américaines; “The Davis Recall and the Courts” American Politics Research, Vol. 33, No. 2,; and “Constraining Populism: The Real Agenda of Initiative Reform,” Santa Clara Law Review, Vol. 41, No. 4, 1037-1084. He also co-wrote with Bruce E. Cain “The Populist Legacy: Initiatives and the Undermining of Representative Government” in Larry J. Sabato, Howard R. Ernst, and Bruce A. Larson, eds. Dangerous Democracy? The Battle Over Ballot Initiatives in America and “Voting Rights Mismatch: The Challenge of Applying the Voting Rights Act to ‘Other Minorities’” in Mark E. Rush, ed., Voting Rights and Redistricting in the United States.