Henry E. Brady
Class of 1941 Monroe Deutsch Professor of Political Science and Public Policy and Dean, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley
Areas of Expertise:
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About Henry
Brady studies political participation and elections in the United States and other countries, voting machines and voting systems, higher education policy, and welfare policy. He is a member of the Lincoln Project of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences which is exploring the future of American higher education. He works with the Campaign for College Opportunity (Oakland California) which lobbies for college access and opportunity in California. He has looked at the factors which impede and enhance political participation of all kinds, and has investigated the strengths and weaknesses of various voting systems. He was an expert witness in the 2000 Butterfly Ballot case in Palm Beach, Florida, and he testified before the Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform. His work on welfare shows that poor families with disabled children face substantial barriers to moving off welfare.
Contributions
Unequal Citizen Voice and the Broken Promise of American Democracy
Key Findings Brief,
In the News
Henry E. Brady quoted on US-China relations, "US-China Trade Rift Could Squeeze Growth and Hurt Consumers" KTVU, April 6, 2018.
Henry E. Brady quoted by John Morgan, "One Year of Donald Trump: How are US Universities Faring?" Times of Higher Education, January 18, 2018.
Henry E. Brady quoted on undermining universities by John Morgan, "Free Speech ‘Adopted’ by Hostile Right to ‘Discredit Universities’" Times Higher Education, November 18, 2017.
"Rebundling Higher Education: A Critical Move to Avoid the Fate of the Newspaper," Henry E. Brady, The EvoLLLution, April 4, 2013.
"Sunday Dialogue: Giving All Citizens a Voice," Henry E. Brady (with ), New York Times, November 10, 2012.
Guest to discuss how to balance social-service funding with voters' desire to pay lower taxes on KQED Radio, Henry E. Brady (with ), October 7, 2012.
Publications
"Let’s Not Railroad American Higher Education!" PS: Political Science and Politics 46, no. 1 (2013).
Considers the multiple challenges American colleges and universities face at a time of intense political criticism, rising costs, and the proliferation of Internet instruction.
"The Unheavenly Chorus: Political Voice and the Promise of American Democracy" (with ) (Princeton University Press, 2012).
Tracks class-based inequalities in political voice, using data on individual political participation and on the interests represented through organizations active in politics and lobbying.
"Turning Out to Vote: The Costs of Finding and Getting to the Polling Place" (with ). American Political Science Review 105, no. 1 (February 2011): 115-134.
Asks the question: does changing the locations of polling places affect election outcomes by increasing the costs of voting for some and decreasing costs for others?
"Who Speaks? Citizen Political Voice on the Internet Commons" (with ). Daedalus 140, no. 4 (2011): 121-139.
Shows that inequalities of citizen voice long characteristic of traditional forms of political activity are replicated when participation takes place via the Internet.
"Accuracy and Security in Voting Systems" (with ), in Mobilizing Democracy: A Comparative Perspective on Institutional Barriers and Political Obstacles, edited by James Johnson, Jack Knight, Margaret Levi and Susan Stokes (Russell Sage Publications, 2008).
Explains how, in attempts to improve U.S. elections, the challenge of accurate recording of votes must be taken just as seriously as the issue of ensuring security from tampering.
"The Butterfly Did It: The Aberrant Vote for Buchanan in Palm Beach County, Florida" (with ). American Political Science Review 95, no. 4 (2001): 793-810.
Shows that the improperly designed butterfly ballot used in Palm Beach County, Florida in the 2001 election caused more than 2000 Democratic voters to cast mistaken ballots, a number larger than the margin of victory in that state by Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush.
"Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics" (with ) (Harvard University Press, 1995).
Uses an original survey of 15,000 individuals plus 2,500 personal interviews to analyze how Americans with varied motives, resources, and connections come to be politically active. Explains how education, race, gender, and other factors help some citizens to gain much more political voice than others.