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Application Deadline: 11:59 pm ET on Monday, February 16, 2026.

About Us:

The Center for Election Innovation & Research (“CEIR”) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, whose core mission is to work with election officials and build confidence in elections that voters should trust and do trust. CEIR has a proven record of working in a nonpartisan manner with election officials from around the country and from both sides of the aisle. To achieve its goals, CEIR seeks to increase informed civic engagement by educating the public, providing support to election officials, and conducting practical research on best practices for election administration.

 

Position Overview

CEIR is seeking qualified Research Interns to join our team for 10 weeks during the summer of 2026.

The Research Interns will work under the supervision of the Associate Research Director and Program Manager, and in collaboration with other members of the Research Team, to support CEIR’s research initiatives. These initiatives include matters pertaining to voter registration, voter access, election integrity and security, and election administration policy. The Research Interns will support CEIR’s mission by assisting with policy research and/or data analysis, contributing to work that serves CEIR’s diverse audience of election officials, policymakers, the media, voters, and other key stakeholders. This internship is designed to help students develop skills and interest in researching election administration issues.

Research Interns typically follow either a “policy track” or a “data track,” though they may be asked to assist with efforts in the other track depending on workload and interest.

 

Key Responsibilities

  • Develop understanding of issues relevant to CEIR’s mission, including policies affecting election administration and voter access
  • Assist with drafting external products, such as blog posts or issue briefs
  • Monitor trends, research, and publications in the election space to inform CEIR’s research portfolio
  • Track news stories, state and federal legislation, and other election-related developments
  • Contribute to a team culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning, quality, collaboration, positivity, and transparency
  • Maintain effective communication with team members and participate in regular team meetings
  • Develop presentations or briefs to communicate results to members of the research team, other parts of CEIR, and external audiences

Policy Track Responsibilities

  • Assist with and conduct research into public policy issues related to CEIR’s research initiatives. This may include writing plain language summaries of relevant bills or laws, analyzing news and academic articles about election administration, and assisting with qualitative research like interviews, among other activities.
  • Translate policy research into reference documents, such as policy memos or plain language bill summaries

Data Track Responsibilities

  • Assist with data collection and management on topics related to CEIR’s research initiatives. This may include public data pertaining to voter registration or vote method, survey data from CEIR or other researchers, and other quantitative or qualitative data.
  • Analyze data using statistical software and produce data visualizations

 

About You

CEIR reviews applications for internships based on (1) the student’s interest in our mission to support elections that voters should—and do—trust and (2) the student’s desire to improve their policy research and/or data analysis skills. We encourage all interested students to apply.

  • Strong academic record
  • Familiarity with topics of election administration, election security, voting access, voter registration, or related topics
  • Experience in public policy research and/or data analysis, which may include experience in a classroom, research lab, internship, or other relevant setting
    • Policy track:
      • Interest in public policy research, including familiarity with data findings and synthesizing relevant research from media, academic, and government publications (Experience analyzing provisions in state and federal legislation a plus)
      • Interest in working with legal research tools (e.g., LexisNexis, Westlaw, BillTrack50) and data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, R, Python)
    • Data track:
      • Interest in data analysis and quantitative research methods, including data collection, manipulation, and management (Experience with advanced statistical analysis is a plus)
      • Interest in working with statistical and data management tools (e.g., R, Stata, SPSS, Python, SQL) and data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, R, Python)
    • Ability to work objectively and in a nonpartisan manner with respect to CEIR’s research
    • Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with an emphasis on detail and accuracy
    • Excellent interpersonal skills and comfort working in a hybrid or remote environment
    • Commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion both in your work and in the workplace
    • Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications
    • A passion for getting nerdy about the details of election policy

 

Compensation & Hours

Interns will be compensated at a rate of $20.65 per hour and are expected to work full time (40 hours per week) for 10 weeks unless prior arrangements are made.

The CEIR office is a hybrid work environment with an option to work remotely. Interns will be expected to work with members of the Research Team in the D.C. office 1-3 days per week.

 

How to Apply

The application form will ask you to provide the items listed below. Please do not include your name on any of your submitted materials. The form will ask for your name and contact information in a separate field.

Interested candidates should submit the following:

  1. Resume or CV–please include any relevant research projects or experiences
  2. Brief cover letter or statement of your interest in the position, including whether you are interested in the policy track or data track (no more than 500 words)
  3. Work sample (no more than five pages and 2,000 words)—this should be something that makes you proud, shows what you can do, and is relevant to the track to which you’re applying!