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Researcher

Vote Smart
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Vote Smart Internship Program Overview

Are you passionate about empowering voters and promoting transparency? Join Vote Smart’s Internship Program, where you'll gain hands-on experience in political research and public service. Contribute to impactful projects that support your career aspirations, and directly support our mission of providing free, factual, and unbiased information on candidates and elected officials to all Americans.

Program Overview

You can contribute to one of five focused programs:

  • Key Votes: Collect and summarize legislative activity.
  • Public Statements: Research public officials’ statements to provide insights into their priorities.
  • Special Interest Groups (SIGs): Collect and organize data on advocacy group endorsements and ratings.
  • Elections Monitoring: Collect lists of candidates running for office, ballot measures, and rosters of local officials.
  • Profiles: Collect biographical and contact information on candidates for office and currently elected officials.

Details

  • Duration: Spring 2025 semester, starting January 29, 2025.
  • Commitment: 130 total hours; 10–20 hours per week, flexible scheduling.
  • Location: Remote or Des Moines, IA office.
  • Compensation: Unpaid, but academic credit may be available.

Benefits of Interning at Vote Smart

  • Mentorship through experienced political researchers.
  • Experience contributing to a nationally recognized organization.
  • Insights into nonpartisan work; firsthand and unbiased political research.
  • Contribution to democracy - make a tangible impact by helping voters make informed decisions.

Are you the Ideal Candidate?

We’re looking for motivated, detail-oriented individuals pursuing or holding degrees in Political Science, Journalism, Public Administration, Law, or related fields. Strong research and organizational skills are essential, as is a commitment to unbiased and factual work. Candidates must be at minimum a Junior in College. 

Key Votes Internship

Overview
The Key Votes Program focuses on identifying and summarizing significant legislation at both the state and federal levels. Interns in this program play a critical role by analyzing legislative documents and crafting concise, unbiased summaries to inform voters about key issues.

In-depth online research is essential to identify noteworthy legislation and accurately enter and maintain legislative vote data in our system. Interns will work under the guidance of a Key Votes Research Associate, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the information provided to the public.

Responsibilities

  • Analyze and summarize legislation in clear, neutral terms.
  • Collaborate with the Key Votes team to maintain accuracy and consistency.
  • Stay informed on legislative trends and breaking news.
  • Conduct vote record entry and ensure data integrity.

Ideal Candidate

  • Strong analytical and writing skills.
  • Exceptional attention to detail with a commitment to nonpartisan work.
  • Interest in legislative processes and public policy.

Public Statements Internship

Overview
The Public Statements Program is dedicated to collecting and organizing statements and positions from public officials. Interns in this program will conduct thorough research on speeches, interviews, and other reliable sources to provide voters with accurate insights into politicians' beliefs, priorities, and policy stances.

Responsibilities

  • Research and verify public officials' statements.
  • Organize statements by topic.
  • Ensure database accuracy through tracking officials’ official pages.
  • Collaborate with the Director to maintain consistency.

Ideal Candidate

  • Skilled in research and fact-checking.
  • Curious about political discourse and officials' perspectives.
  • Self-motivated with strong time management skills.
     

Special Interest Groups Internship

Overview
The Special Interest Groups (SIGs) program provides voters with information about endorsements and ratings from advocacy organizations. Interns will investigate SIG activities by collecting necessary information released by interest groups. Interns will report to a SIG Research Associate. 

Responsibilities

  • Collect, enter, and check data on advocacy group endorsements and ratings.
  • Update core information of SIGs (such as; mission statement, demographic information, and more).
  • Organize and update information in Vote Smart’s database.
  • Identify and report any new SIGs, and any that are inactive.
  • Maintain all state research in its entirety.

Ideal Candidate

  • Strong research skills and attention to detail.
  • Enjoy working with spreadsheets.
  • Interest in the role of advocacy groups in politics.

General Qualifications for All Programs

  • Pursuing or holding a degree in Political Science, Journalism, Public Administration, Law, or a related field.
  • Candidates must be at minimum a Junior in College.
  • Excellent communication and organizational skills.
  • Passion for nonpartisan work and civic engagement.
  • Comfortable with technology and online research tools.
     

Elections Monitoring Internship

Overview
The Elections Monitoring program is the crux of Vote Smart’s entire research program. It is the job of this program to collect all candidates running for office and input them into our database using state government lists of who filed to run. Additionally, this team collects information on special elections and legislative appointments, processes primary, general, and runoff elections, as well as lists of local elected officials in major cities and counties across the country.

Attention to detail is essential to succeeding in this program. This team needs to successfully enter each candidate into a massive library of past and present candidates and ensure that each candidate is in the correct election. Interns will work under the guidance of an Elections Monitoring Associate.

Responsibilities

  • Analyze and summarize legislation in clear, neutral terms.
  • Collaborate with the Elections Monitoring Associate and Elections Director to maintain accuracy and consistency.
  • Stay informed on electoral trends and breaking news.
  • Conduct candidate and official list entry and ensure data integrity.

Ideal Candidate

  • Strong analytical and writing skills.
  • Exceptional attention to detail with a commitment to nonpartisan work.
  • Interest in the electoral process and how states differentiate themselves in administering elections.

Profiles Internship

Overview
The Profiles Program collects biographical and contact information on candidates running for office as well as currently elected officials. This will include, but is not limited to, a candidate’s work experience, education and political histories, their social media handles, and campaign email. Interns in this program will conduct thorough research on lists of candidates running for federal and state offices in order to provide voters with a sense of who seeks to represent them.

A good candidate will be able to sift through large amounts of information on a candidate and pick out the most relevant and important information. Additionally, attention to detail and accurate formatting of the data entered will contribute to a successful internship.

Responsibilities

  • Research candidates and officials and find as much biographical and contact information as possible.
  • Organize biographical experiences by type and category.
  • Ensure database accuracy by correctly formatting biographical experiences.
  • Collaborate with the Profiles Research Associate and Elections Research Director to maintain consistency.

Ideal Candidate

  • Skilled in research and fact-checking.
  • Curious about the electoral process.
  • Self-motivated with strong time management skills.