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Ballotpedia:Careers/interning

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Interning at Ballotpedia

Work directly with our close-knit teams. Help us solve the political information problem as we strive to cover every election in America!

Throughout the year, Ballotpedia hosts 100% remote, paid internship opportunities. Our Spring internship program runs from January to May. Our Summer internship program runs from June to August. Our Fall semester runs from September to December. Like our full-time staff, Ballotpedia interns work remotely. As of 2024, interns are paid a minimum of $15.00 per hour (or their state’s minimum wage, whichever is higher). Depending on the specific program, interns work part-time (about 10–20 hours per week) and enjoy substantial autonomy over the scheduling because we know you need to balance your internship with schoolwork and other commitments!

Remote • Paid • Mission-driven: Flexible scheduling, real impact, and hands-on experience across editorial, data, tech, communications, and more.

Application process

We accept and process internship applications on a rolling basis. Applicants are asked to submit a resume, a cover letter detailing their interest in Ballotpedia’s mission, and a neutral, non-partisan writing sample during their application. Once those are reviewed, select candidates are assigned a brief writing and data research assignment. From there, applicants will meet with Ballotpedia staff to discuss the program in a 30-minute interview. Final applicants receive their offers to join the program about one month before it begins.

Available internship opportunities

Links to current openings in alphabetical order and link to the main Job Opportunities page

Our internship programs

Editorial Content

Editorial Content interns are embedded in one of our seven core Editorial Content teams or functions: Ballot Measures, Elections, Events, Law, Local Expansion, News, and Policy. Interns contribute directly to our mission, including (but not limited to):

  • Working on articles on candidates and elections (Federal, State, or Local)
  • Assisting teams in news tracking and monitoring
  • Researching candidate stances and biographies
  • Researching election results and inputting them into our database
  • Researching race expenditures and endorsements
  • Processing Candidate Connection surveys
  • Conducting research projects to improve overall data quality
  • Participating in brainstorming sessions with experienced staff members
  • Writing and researching on various political topics
  • Processing new volunteer applications and supporting volunteer program activities
  • Supporting Ballotpedia fellows program activities
  • Assisting with Editorial Content Department metrics and reporting data collection
  • Photo of Intern
    Editorial Content

    Sydney Baker

    The Ballotpedia internship experience sharpened my research and analytical skills, deepened my understanding of American politics, and gave me a front-row seat to the inner workings of a mission-driven organization. I'm grateful for the mentorship I received and the meaningful projects I contributed to. This internship has truly provided pivotal growth in my professional journey.

    2025 Summer Intern
Communications

Our communications interns work directly with one of our specialized communications team members on a number of communications and marketing projects aimed at promoting Ballotpedia’s mission-critical work to key audiences, including but not limited to:

  • Assisting with Ballotpedia’s social media, including creating posts and graphics
  • Assisting with Ballotpedia’s various email products, from daily and weekly newsletters to special campaigns
  • Responding to communications from a variety of external sources
  • Assisting in coordinating and completing webinars, briefings, or similar group events
  • Collecting a variety of data points, tracking subscribers, engagement, and more
  • Helping develop compelling presentations, infographics and reports
  • Monitoring and reporting on media mentions
  • Participating in special research projects
  • Participating in promotional planning and activities
  • Photo of Abigail Campbell
    Communications

    Abigail Campbell

    Interning with Ballotpedia was a wonderful experience. I was guided and taught throughout various projects while being allowed to be creative and explore my ideas and projects. I have learned about American politics and meaningful ways to reach and educate people. It was an invaluable experience with great mentorship!

    2020 Communications Intern and current Communications Manager, Shared Channels
Tech (GIS Analysis)

GIS Analyst Intern’s primary job is researching and formatting shapefiles for political boundaries. Ballotpedia's Sample Ballot Lookup Tool allows voters to see upcoming elections for their address. This and other functionality will be powered by your work. This includes:

  • Researching to understand the legal requirements for who can vote in which types of elections
  • Sourcing maps through online research, outreach to government offices, or georeferencing to create new shapefiles
  • Testing and formatting the files to conform to Ballotpedia's database requirements
  • Working with the Ballotpedia database to add the boundaries and perform tests
  • Completing other GIS or database-oriented activities will be assigned based on skill, interest, and need
  • Photo of Intern
    Tech (GIS)

    Rook Bowman

    Interning with Ballotpedia provides not just the opportunity to strengthen technical skills, but also the chance to work with a supportive team toward the incredibly important goal of making election information clear for American voters.

    2024 Spring and Summer Intern
External Relations

Looking to grow your career in non-profit fundraising and development while helping to contribute to an amazing mission? External Relations interns assist the department with activities to support Ballotpedia’s donor relations, strategic partnerships, and data sales opportunities. This includes:

  • Conducting basic research about potential partners and donors for Ballotpedia
  • Assisting with aspects of donor recognition and record keeping such as donor database entry, thank you note writing, and other donor recognition as appropriate
  • Preparing research on elections and other related topics that may be needed for small and large partnerships
  • Being tasked with data entry and data clean-up
  • Utilizing Salesforce to produce reports and manage Ballotpedia’s database of external contacts
  • Completing other special projects as assigned.