Campus Democracy Fellow – Position Description
Location: Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, and North Carolina
Common Cause Campus Democracy Fellows will work closely with Common Cause state staff and national youth programs staff to boost civic engagement and promote the value of becoming lifelong participants in democracy on their campus. Our fellows do this by learning skills to register, educate, mobilize, advocate, and protect voters and voting rights.
Our organizing model centers young people, especially young people of color and their experiences participating in democracy. We are working to create a multiracial base of young people who are ready to speak up and take action to create a more equitable and just democracy.
This academic year we are hosting the following four democracy fellowship programs:
Georgia AUC Program
Maryland HBCU Program
Jackson and Hattiesburg Mississippi Program
North Carolina HBCU Program
All applicants must attend one of the campuses listed above in order to be a fellow.
Fall Semester:
In the fall semester, Democracy Fellows whose campus have a fall election will focus on increasing student turnout by:
- creatively communicating with peers about the importance of students voting and having a voice in decisions affecting their everyday lives, their futures, and our campuses.
- disseminating information about the voting processes (voter registration, requesting absentee ballots, accessing polling locations, voting early, etc).
- attending community meetings to learn about early voting, election protocol, and polling site locations;
- working with campus staff and faculty to build relationships that can help with engaging the full campus in GOTV;
- recruiting volunteers for GOTV roles (text bankers, canvassers, poll monitors, etc.)
In the fall semester, Democracy Fellows whose campus does not have an election cycle will focus on creating a civically engaged campus community by:
- hosting events that will prepare students for midterm primaries;
- connecting with students on issue areas of student interest and Common Cause policy platforms;
- attending community meetings to learn about early voting, election protocol, and what will be expected in the spring.
- working with campus staff and faculty to build relationships that can help with engaging the full campus in GOTV;
- creating a blog post or OpEd;
- advocating to make midterm primary voting more accessible to students.
Spring Semester:
In the spring semester, Democracy Fellows will focus on building relationships and educating their peers on how to be prepared for the upcoming primaries:
- hosting events and discussion on topics that highlight the importance of civic engagement and down ballot races;
- advocating to make voting more accessible for students.
- educating and mobilize students for the 2023 primaries.
- disseminating information on bills or changes that will have a direct impact on students.
This is a ten hour minimum per week commitment for the semester with the opportunity to continue for an additional semester. Selected Democracy Fellows will receive $1000 per semester divided into three monthly payments (September, October, and November).
Opportunities
- Build relationships with student leaders on your campus, in your state, and across the country;
- Participate in leadership and organizing trainings to prepare you for future work in politics, law, advocacy, public relations, and more;
- Increase your advocacy network by participating in trainings and learning sessions from leaders throughout the democracy and advocacy field;
- Develop a mentoring relationship with Common Cause’s staff and connections to Common Cause’s community of partners.
Responsibilities
- Build a base by recruiting and tracking volunteers
- Manage and participate in voter registration and community outreach
- Participate in statewide and national Democracy Fellow trainings, learning events, and campus check ins
- Work collaboratively with community and campus partners
- Support and advance the Common Cause Student Action Alliance’s mission
- Disseminate information about the voting processes by making class announcements, organizing residence hall dialogues, tabling, and attending partner events
- Work closely with Common Cause staff to develop individual goals and work plans that are in alignment with student’s strengths and interests.
An ideal candidate will
- Demonstrate leadership qualities
- Engage peers and surrounding community in the electoral process
- Have strong written and verbal skills
Contact us by email at youthprograms@commoncause.org, if you have any questions.