Voter Outreach and Engagement Street Team members: Lowell Alliance

Position Hours and Timeline: April-November 2021. Starting at 4 hours per week with hours increasing up to 8 hours a week August-October. Hours are flexible but availability in the late afternoon-early evening and up to two weekend days per month is strongly preferred. 

Compensation: $16/hr

Summary:  

Lowell Alliance’s Voter Outreach and Engagement Street Team will work closely with Lowell Votes to develop and carry out an outreach strategy to: 1. Inform the community of the new voting districts and system and, 2. Register new voters and provide information on candidates and their stand on issues important to the community, on election dates and how to vote. 

Lowell Alliance is a member of the Lowell Votes coalition and our street team’s work will be done in support of the coalition’s goals. Lowell Votes is a community-based, non-partisan, grass-roots initiative to increase voter participation in Lowell, Massachusetts. We aim to increase voter access particularly for minority and under-engaged voters and advocate for local government transparency and accountability. This year is an especially important year for Lowell Votes due to the city’s transition to a new election system and new voting districts.

Specific duties and task

• Attend trainings on best practices for engaging the public, explaining Lowell’s new voting system and districts, and mobilizing voters.
• Work with Lowell Alliance to map out target neighborhoods and develop a canvassing schedule.
• Distribute educational materials and engage Lowell residents in conversations on the new election system including flyering in businesses and door knocking
• Register new voters through tabling in public spaces
• Distribute voting information to Lowell residents on the new voting system including flyering in businesses, door knocking, and phone-banking

Qualifications:

• Fluency in English and one or more of the following languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Khmer
• Strong verbal communication skills
• High comfort level going door-to-door and speaking with people over the phone about voting-related issues.
• Interest in and some knowledge of civic engagement, voter education, voter mobilization etc. 
• Familiarity with Lowell and connections to the community are strongly preferred 
  For more information about Lowell Alliance, please check our website: www.lowellalliance.org
  Please email your letter of interest or cover letter and resume to ncoan@lowellalliance.org with the Subject title: “Voter Engagement and Outreach Street Team [Your Last Name]”

  Background on Lowell’s Voting System: The new voting system taking effect this year is a result of the Voting Rights Act lawsuit settled in 2019. In prior years, the eight City Council seats were elected at-large, which led to an over-representation of councilors from one neighborhood, Belvidere, and systematically disenfranchised minority voters. The new voting system seeks to rectify this imbalance by expanding the number of seats, limiting the number of at large seats, and creating new voting districts which make it easier for non-traditional and first time candidates to run. 

  Note: Applicants who are planning on running in this year’s City Council or School Committee race or plan on actively campaigning for a candidate running for City Council or School Committee are welcome to apply but may not use this position to uplift any particular candidate. Lowell Votes does not endorse any candidate and must be kept separate from voter engagement and education work.