Submitted by John Stauber on
Background
As the world learned in 2000 and 2004, the very integrity of the voting process in the United States has come under suspicion with dubious outcomes. Fair and honest elections with properly counted results that can be documented and trusted are essential to democracy. But can we really trust the results today? Who is watchdogging elections at the local, state and national level? Will hanging chads and unaccountable electronic machines determine the outcome of the 2008 vote?
To help answer these questions, and to play a role in improving the process, we at the Center for Media and Democracy will soon be launching a new project on our www.SourceWatch.org website, our Election Protection portal. Watch for it in the weeks ahead.
SourceWatch, our online encyclopedia of the people, organizations and issues shaping the public agenda, will soon become a clearing house of vital current information, research and reports for examining the US election process. The new Election Protection portal will be a key "first stop" online resource for information about election officials, polling places, procedures and regulations.
We're hoping to meet an urgent need. There has never to our knowledge been a central repository for this information, certainly not one that harnesses citizen journalism and the benefits of 'wiki' collaboration to stay up to date and accurate. The lack of such a website has been a serious hindrance to understanding and responding to problems on Election Day and to reforming voting procedures before the next election.
Many organizations and individuals are working across the United States to protect our right to vote and the integrity of the electoral process. In the weeks ahead we will be drawing attention to their work and pulling it together in one portal in Sourcewatch. This is an experiment, it's not been done before. We're doing it in the spirit of our successful experiment earlier this year, the Super Delegate Transparency Project.
Limited-Term Position Available to Work on the Election Protection Project
Right now, we're looking for the right person to become the paid editor of our Election Protection wiki, beginning immediately. Below is the job posting. If you qualify, please send us an email. This is a short term position with no benefits, and it will be a demanding job, but it's an important position. We hope to fill this position by the end of the week, so please send this quickly to anyone you know who might be interested.
Position Description
3 Month Temporary Researcher Position (Immediate through end of November)
CMD, a non-profit and non-partisan watchdog organization, is seeking a temporary (approximately 3 month) researcher/writer to gather information on election protection issues for publishing on a public wiki site. Ideal candidates have some familiarity with election protection issues (voter disenfranchisement, ID requirements e-voting problems, etc.) and basic html or wiki markup skills. Strong Internet research skills required.
The researcher will write fully referenced articles for publication on the Election Protection Wiki (EP Wiki), a project of the Center for Media and Democracy hosted on www.SourceWatch.org The EP Wiki will be a clearing house of reports and other research from election administration and protection groups as well as governmental election information such as the responsible local officials, procedures and regulations. A lack of a central repository for this information has been a serious hindrance to understanding and responding to problems on Election Day and understanding and reforming voting procedures. Indexing all existing election research will also reduce the future duplication of efforts.
Pre-election, the focus of the EP Wiki will be on recent election problems and the official avenues of remedy, appeal, etc., to serve as a valuable background resource to the media, poll watchers, activists and rapid-response groups. Post-election, reports of Election Day problems will be gathered and indexed in order to inform longer-term research and reform efforts by elected officials, public interest groups and academics.
The researcher will work closely with various groups in the election protection community to ascertain informational priorities and inventory their existing research. She/he will work with other Center for Media and Democracy staff to organize the articles on the main SourceWatch.org wiki and encourage participation by volunteer researchers.
The position is temporary and comes with no benefits. Pay is $800 - $1200 a week depending on experience and skill level. Full time candidates are ideal but part-timers will be considered. Job starts immediately. Ideal location is Madison, WI, or Washington, DC, but anywhere with good web access is possible.
Requirements
* At least 1 - 3 years of policy research or journalism experience.
* Significant online research skills including fact-checking or source verification.
* Highly detail-oriented work.
* A high degree of comfort with Internet publishing (such as on blogs or wikis). Wiki experience is not required but the candidate should have some familiarity with basic html formatting.
* A knowledge of election protection and administration issues.
* An interest in protecting election rights and integrity. While the project has no agenda or editorial position, it is focused on facilitating those goals.
To Apply
Send an emailed letter of interest, salary history and an attached resume to conor AT sourcewatch.org (replace AT with @). The Center for Media and Democracy is an equal opportunity employer. Women, people of color, LGBT people and others are strongly encouraged to apply.
Printer-friendly version