Project Vote Smart aims to provide Americans with resources and opportunities to learn more about those that are supposed to represent their interests in government. Student interns will help Project Vote Smart in its mission to provide voters with a clear picture on where candidates and office-holders stand on key issues. Student interns will contribute to Project Vote Smart's extensive database of factual information as well as further contribute to easy-to-understand snapshots of candidates through tools like VoteEasy.
Student interns might help research what issues are both consistently the top concerns of the American people and also likely to come up in the next legislative session. Students may research national polls over the last three years, the majority, minority and third party platforms, legislative agendas, State of the Union & Response speeches, and State of the State & Response speeches. In addition, students might help research the issue positions of both candidates and officials. This is done by collecting candidate surveys and other public statements from candidates and scouring candidates' public records (votes, sponsorships, statements, and evaluations from interest groups) to determine their issue positions. Students also might help consult with prominent national political journalists, political scientists and the entire Project Vote Smart founding board to ensure that this information is non-partisan and unbiased.
For more information please contact the Unruh Institute of Politics in VKC 263 at (213) 740-8964 or email Internship Associate Bret VandenBos at bwvanden@usc.edu.
