INTERNSHIP OVERVIEW
Swing Left Greater Boston, in conjunction with volunteers across New England, is conducting a program of evidence-based interventions to encourage low frequency voters to apply for absentee ballots and to follow them through the voting process to ensure that their votes will be counted.
People of color, young people and unmarried women represent nearly ⅔ of the voting eligible population in this country, but in November 2020, they may cast less than half the ballots in the most important election of our lives. Americans are facing unprecedented threats to the vote, including a global pandemic and voter suppression tactics at all levels of government. The outcome of the 2020 elections could well be determined not by how Americans vote, but by which Americans vote.
During the summer, Swing Left Greater Boston offered an Internship program that included a dozen interns who worked with other volunteers to design and implement volunteer-run vote by mail registration programs. Interns also helped design and implement research programs, voter outreach events and social media campaigns.
The fall program begins on August 24th and ends on November 6th. It is designed to accommodate the schedules of full-time students. Interns enrolled in the program commit to 8-10 hours per week. The interns must have strong organizational, interpersonal, technical and research skills, and have a passion for social change.
ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW
Swing Left Greater Boston empowers activists to make an immediate impact on the 2020 election by sending vote-by-mail applications, calling voters and staffing voter protection teams to boost Democratic turnout and prevent voter suppression across the swing states.
Swing Left Greater Boston is the largest grassroots organization of its kind in New England with a weekly newsletter circulation of 10,000 subscribers.
WORK PLAN
Interns will work collaboratively on vote by mail projects in Maine, Pennsylvania, Florida and North Carolina. Projects will include:
- Learning about ongoing efforts to boost vote by mail – what’s working and what’s not — in battleground states across the country
- Interviewing local organizers and election officials
- Analyzing electoral data at the county level, including changes in party affiliation over time, and the effects of gerrymandering on turnout
- Participating in voter protection efforts
- Obtaining current information on vote by mail registration in swing counties
- Creating vote by mail analyses, including key recommendations, for selected swing counties
- Designing programs, including a research component, for vote by mail registration
- Using Spanish or Creole language skills to reach out to voters in Latinx and Haitian communities
- Working with grassroots volunteers and groups to implement these programs and measure their effectiveness
This internship is unfunded, and we encourage you to seek funding from your universities.
This internship is remote.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Majoring in the social sciences, or a related field.
- Be willing to commit 10 hours per week.
- Have good organizational skills and a commitment to detail.
- Have good communication skills.
How to apply: Email a cover letter and resume to Lisa Zankman, Swing Left Greater Boston volunteer coordinator
(zankmanlisa@gmail.com).