The NYU Democracy Project
HOW TO GET INVOLVED:
1. Apply to our Fellowship Program
The NYU Democracy Project offers two funded fellowships: LEAD Fellowships (open to all NYU students) and Parke Fellowships (only for continuing and graduating Wagner students). Both applications are currently closed, but will reopen for Fall '22. To be added to our mailing list for updates on future info sessions and application cycles, please email us at DemocracyProject@nyu.edu.
Read more about our fellowships here.
Click here to meet our Democracy Cohorts!
2. Plug into current electoral and pro-democracy organizing!
The midterms are coming up and there is critical work to be done to ensure everyone can vote and to build power in underrepresented communities. Below are a list of both paid and unpaid ways for students can get involved outside of our Democracy Fellowships.
- Check out this list of organizations that offer volunteer opportunities around voter engagement and education.
- Apply to a paid Field and Community Fellowship with Headcount to run voter registration and turnout drives.
For a more extensive list and to discuss opportunities further, we encourage students to sign up for office hours with a Democracy Project representative or email DemocracyProject@nyu.edu.
Already involved with a pro-democracy organization? Join the LEAD Democracy Cohort and participate in professional development and community-building events with your NYU peers! Contact us at DemocracyProject@nyu.edu to get connected.
How it all got started:
Check out this student-made podcast on what inspired the VOTE2020 Initiative, and how it grew into the NYU Democracy Project.
The NYU Democracy Project is a project of the Initiative for Community Power and Democratic Engagement at NYU.
WORK BY DEMOCRACY FELLOWS
Sen. Manchin’s Freedom to Vote Act would help stop gerrymandering, our research finds
"We examined new district maps, and found that those drawn by independent commissions would be most likely to pass the Manchin test."
Parke Fellow Anna Harris co-authors op-ed for the Washington Post based on her research with the Brennan Center for Justice's Redistricting Program.
Large Racial Turnout Gap Persisted in 2020 Election
"70.9 percent of white voters cast ballots compared with only 58.4 percent of nonwhite voters — a disparity that will worsen with new restrictive voting laws."
Parke Fellow Coryn Grange co-authors Brennan Center analysis on research on racial disparities in voter turnout.
Racial Turnout Gap Grew in Jurisdictions Previously Covered by the Voting Rights Act
"Between 2012 and 2020, the white-Black turnout gap grew between 9.2 and 20.9 percentage points across five of the six states originally covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act."
Parke Fellow Coryn Grange co-authors Brennan Center resource on analysis of racial disparities in voting and implications of changes to key voting legislation.
California knows how to avoid partisan gerrymandering
"In this article we explain that there is a solution to this once-a-decade nationwide battle: California’s model of an independent citizen redistricting commission."
Parke Fellow Anna Harris co-authors blog post on solutions to redistricting. Read above in SCOCAblog, a joint project of Berkeley Law's California Constituion Center and the Hastings Law Journal.