About the Race
In Pennsylvania, there are over 600,000 students enrolled in state colleges and universities–that’s the most of any battleground. These young voters have the numbers and the power to determine the outcomes of elections up and down the ballot in 2024.
And while young Americans do believe they have the power to change the country, just 2 in 5 say they feel well-qualified to participate in politics.¹ Most young Americans do not believe they have been adequately prepared to understand the impact of their vote, or even how to cast it.² That uncertainty depresses turnout: in 2022, just under 1 in 4 young voters cast a ballot.³ Young people are not apathetic–we are failing to adequately prepare and engage them.
In 2024 Project 26 organized in-person across 56 campuses and maintained a tailored digital footprint at over 100 schools, engaging nearly 450 student fellows during the presidential election. Our fellow-led teams generated voter turnout of 78.45% in on-campus precincts, resulting in a 41.6% increase from 2020 and the highest campus turnout in recent history.
As we think about the organization’s focus in 2025, we are committed to furthering our mission to protect and expand democracy by elevating youth leadership on campuses across the state. Our goal is to empower college students to take control of their futures, get organized, and vote in the future elections.
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- 2022 Youth Survey, CIRCLE at Tufts University, https://circle.tufts.edu/our-research/broadening-youth-voting.
- 46th Biannual Harvard Youth Poll, Harvard Kennedy School, https://iop.harvard.edu/youth-poll/46th-edition-fall-2023.
- 2022 Youth Survey, CIRCLE at Tufts University, https://circle.tufts.edu/our-research/broadening-youth-voting.
Position Overview:
- Mission: Fellows will work with Campus Organizers to build a movement on campus to build excitement around civic engagement, educate, and mobilize young voters to the polls.
- Location: Campus Fellows are expected to work in-person on campus.
- Compensation & Hours: Campus Fellows are paid an hourly rate of $16.67 and are expected to work a minimum of 10 and maximum 15 hours in a typical week.
- During peak voter-education times, fellows will be expected to work additional hours. Examples of peak times include: two full weeks leading up to any election, Welcome Week on campus, two full weeks prior to the voter registration deadline. These additional hours will be communicated ahead of time.
- Applications will be reviewed and offered on a rolling basis.
What Will You Do?
Essential duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Direct Voter Contact (70%)
- Engage students to promote civic engagement and emphasize the importance of their vote.
- Fellows will: crowd canvassing, tabling, door-to-door canvassing (in dorms and off-campus), class/student club visits, and relational organizing.
- Facilitate conversations that encourage students to reflect on key issues (e.g., education, climate, jobs) and how elections directly impact their lives.
- Register students to vote.
- Educate students with essential voting resources,
- Leverage campus networks (friends, clubs, classes, professors, etc) to collaborate on events, voter registration drives, and other opportunities.
Student Organization Administrative Duties (10%)
- Help to register Project 26 as an approved student organization at your campus.
- Assist in student organization related duties such as attending administrative meetings and trainings, being an executive-board member, and any additional university requirements for approved student organizations.
- Coordinate event logistics, including booking tabling and event spaces.
- Attend weekly meeting / strategy session meetings (date, time, and location vary by campus).
Social Media and Campus Brand (5%)
- Establish and/or manage the campus social media accounts for Project 26 on Instagram and Tiktok, strategizing on the most effective platforms for reaching students
- Also includes standing up and managing a LinkTree account to centralize vital information, including P26 campus events, voter resources, and opportunities to get involved
Data Management and Entry (15%)
- Ensure that all voter registrations are filled out completely and accurately
- Support the Campus Organizer with daily data entry
Who Are You?
A successful candidate for this job will:
- Be comfortable approaching strangers, be eager to talk to as many students as possible
- Have a passion for civic engagement and inspiring young people to get involved
- Be excited to think outside the box and to ideate and innovate to find the most exciting and effective ways to talk to students
- Be scrappy and flexible; able to manage several tasks simultaneously
- Be a self-starter, exceptionally well-organized, and have strong time management skills
- Be enrolled at one of our focus universities.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and we strongly encourage Black, Indigenous, people of color, women, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and others who identify with underrepresented groups to apply.