Internship Program Description

The Equal Vote Coalition and STAR Voting Action Internship Programs provide experiential learning opportunities, practical skill development, and networking opportunities. Internships allow students to not only gain valuable, professional experience but also to learn about career paths, make connections, and contribute to a positive movement to improve democracy.

Interns are assigned a mentor who will guide them in their specific program area. Interns will be coached by their mentors on how to execute tasks in their program area, build professional skills, and have a fulfilling internship experience.

The Equal Vote Coalition and STAR Voting Action seek highly motivated individuals who are passionate about voting reform and ensuring equality in the vote. We offer internships for students the following areas:

Equal Vote:

• Coalition-building
• Research
• Community Education
• Social Media
  

STAR Voting Action:

• Campaigns
• Canvassing
• Community Outreach

Interns are matched to available opportunities based on the student’s goals, skills, knowledge, career interests as well as any school requirements. 

Interns will develop an individual project during the course of the internship with guidance from a mentor. Interns can develop their own project if they have an idea they feel passionately about or choose from a list of projects in their internship area.

Who Qualifies for Internships?

• Undergraduate students 
• Graduate students

Course Credit

Students must work with their schools/institutions to determine if the internship qualifies for class/course credit. Check with your professor or department chair to find out if your college accepts academic credit for internships. If so, find out how many hours you need to spend interning to get course credit and how many credits it is worth. We will work with you to get you the hours you need for course credit. Check if there are any other requirements for an internship for you to be able to get course credit. Ask your professor or department chair to help you get the necessary registration and paperwork for internship course credit and fill that out before you begin your internship. We will work with you and your institutional requirements to make sure you have a successful and beneficial internship.

Project Hours and Duration

Internships will be managed on a term-by-term basis, and scheduled hours and tasks will be determined to not conflict with the intern’s course schedule or other commitments. The number of hours worked weekly will be determined by course credit needs requirements of the student’s institution. 

Location

The work the Equal Vote Coalition and STAR Voting Action performs is both national and international. Our staff, interns, and wide network of volunteers are located in many places. Internships will be remote, with the exception of possible in-person internships available for interns located near the Eugene, OR office. For Eugene interns, the decision on in-person or remote work would be up to the discretion of the intern and staff to determine safety protocols and comfort levels.

Compensation

College credit. Continuing interns qualify for a stipend after completing two internship terms.

General Professional and Educational Development for Interns

Organized learning sessions for interns (AKA Democracy School)

Interns will learn more about the history and current state of voting reform, voting methods and analysis of these methods, and more. Democracy School will meet for one hour a week. If an intern's schedule conflicts, Democracy School will be recorded for them to view asynchronously.

Networking with the Equal Vote Coalition and STAR Voting Community

Once a month, the Equal Vote Coalition will host team-building and networking events for interns to build relationships and connections with each other and other players in the voting reform community.

Resumé Support and Career Advancement

In the last month of the internship, interns will be supported to craft an attractive and robust resumé designed to highlight their skills, experience, and career interests. This content will help inform the content for letters of recommendation for interns who have completed the program. 

End-of-internship Presentations

At the end of the internship period, interns will give a presentation to Equal Vote Coalition Staff on their internship experience, project, and growth and learning over the course of the internship.

Post-internship Evaluations

At the end of the internship, interns will receive a written evaluation from their mentor. This evaluation serves the intern by providing them with written feedback and documentation on their work that they may use or refer to in future job, school, or other applications. 

Schedule, Application Deadlines, and How to Apply

The Equal Vote Coalition and STAR Voting Action accept internship applications on a rolling basis. Interested students should note which internship period they are interested in applying for as well as which organization they have interest in interning with. Interested students may apply in advance for internship periods and do not have to apply only for the upcoming period. Internships are listed in a quarter system but can be altered by need to accommodate students in semester systems. We have four main internship periods:

Winter:

Application deadline: rolling through mid-December 

Winter internship starts: the first day of the term in January 

Ends: the last day of the term in March 

Spring:

Application deadline: rolling through mid-March

Spring internship start date: the first day of the term in April

Ends: the last day of the term in June 

Summer:

Application deadline: rolling through mid-June

Summer internship start date: the first day of the term in July 

Ends: the last day of the term in September 

Fall:

Application deadline: rolling through mid-September

Fall internship start date: the first day of the term in October 

Ends: the last day of the term in December

Click here to apply.