Deputy Voter Protection Director at the Democratic Party of Virginia

[Alyssa Pooler]

Democratic Party of Virginia

Deputy Voter Protection Director

 

The Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA) is seeking a Deputy Voter Protection Director who will manage the Voter Protection Liaison Program and assist in the execution of the Voter Protection Department’s mission. The Deputy Voter Protection Director will work with the Voter Protection and Expansion Director (VPD) and Voter Protection Coordinator (VPC) to make sure every eligible Virginian is engaged as an active participant in our Democracy, understands their voting rights and the importance of voting in every election, is able to vote in free, fair, and accessible elections, and to have those votes counted. DPVA focuses on a year-round and long-term approach to combat voter suppression and expand Virginians’ access to the ballot.

 

What You’ll Do

 

As our Deputy Director of Voter Protection, you will have five main areas of responsibility: 

 

1.     Support the Voter Protection Director to expand access and defend against incursions to the franchise at the state, local, and municipal level

• Research and develop proactive strategies to expand access to the franchise, including voter registration, ballot access, and ballot counting processes. Strategies will include legislation, executive action, and public campaigns, among others. Consider timeline of improvements and appropriate organizational collaborations to ensure implementation ahead of 2020 Elections.
• Monitor and inform legislation related to voting and elections.
• Collect and document information on local voting practices, including polling locations, early voting sites, and vote by mail rules.
• Identify potential threats to the franchise and support the mobilization of a coordinated response within the Party.

 

2. Lead the execution of voter education, outreach, and intervention programs, both ongoing and specific to each election cycle 

• Ensure that all programs, deliverables, and experiences are on time and of high quality.
• Assist the Voter Protection Coordinator in managing a robust poll observer program, including training volunteers, precinct prioritization and assignment, reporting mechanisms, and issue resolution processes. 
• Ensure that all communications to voters include timely, relevant, and accurate information about voting, including the voter protection hotline number.
• Support the Voter Protection Boiler Room on Election Day, making sure that voters’ issues are thoroughly documented, resolved where possible, and escalated and aggregated where appropriate. 
• Assist the Voter Protection Coordinator in managing the Voter Protection Hotline program in volunteer training, operations, reporting, and issue resolution. Monitor calls to the hotline to identify trends and proactively resolve issues.

 

3. Support strong partnerships with county-level officials

• Cultivate strong relationships with county-level officials to advance proactive improvements to voting, respond to threats, and resolve issues for individual voters.
• Recruit, train, and manage volunteer attorneys to serve as County Liaisons, who work with you, will maintain strong relationships with county elections officials in their counties. Support regular communications with Liaisons, ensure accurate and timely reporting, and effective issue resolution.

 

4. Design and maintain strong data practices

• Administer LBJ, VAN/Votebuilder, Google Forms and other database tools to track issues, volunteers, and voters.
• Ensure that all volunteers and staff are properly utilizing databases and that their reports are timely, accurate, and escalated appropriately.
• Develop regular review processes to monitor reports, ensure all voter issues have been resolved, and aggregate and escalate trends

 

5. Prepare for potential litigation and serve as legal resource for team

• Support Director in their work to prepare for potential litigation, including ensuring that county liaisons are ready to participate in election day litigation. 
• Execute a test provisional ballot chase program, ensuring it is ready to be enacted if necessary. 
• Assist with questions relating to voter suppression, intimidation, or efforts aimed at disenfranchising voters of Virginia.

 

Who You Are

 

We are seeking someone who, at their core, is fueled by the satisfaction of fighting for justice. You should be an organizer or political operative, eager to build an army of people who together will create meaningful change. You do not need to be an attorney. Additionally, you should be or have:

 

• A strong, data-driven organizer and/or political operative: Demonstrated ability to stand up large-scale, diverse volunteer organizations that effectively deliver results by motivating and holding volunteers accountable for their goals. Adept at using data to inform strategy development, monitor progress to goal, and report on and analyze outcomes, including familiarity with VAN/Votebuilder, LBJ, Excel, and other tools.

 

• Superb project management skills: Demonstrated excellence in developing and leading the execution of multiple, complex projects simultaneously. Able to spot issues ahead of time of, creatively resolve them, and keep the team on track to meet its goals.  

 

• Self-starter who is highly skilled at managing up. ​The ideal candidate knows how to leverage limited manager or leader time to get the information needed to move decisions, and the work, forward.

 

• Strong lens and judgement on issues of race and equity: Clearly and consistently articulates a sophisticated understanding of racial equity and structural racism as it relates to the work we do and how we operate internally at DPVA. Organizes from a racial justice perspective, with emphasis on voter suppression’s disproportionate impact on communities of color. 

 

• Commitment to Democratic values and electing Democrats in Virginia.

 

• Bonus: A strategically-minded attorney: Possesses strong legal analysis skills and experience the law to advance the goals of your client. Creative problem-solver who sees the opportunity for novel interpretations and challenges to existing, as well as interest and ability to propose new, regulations.

 

 

To apply, email a cover letter and resume to jo...@vademocrats.org with “Deputy Voter Protection Director” as the subject line. Applications are due by February 3, 2020.

 

The DPVA is committed to diversity among its staff, and recognizes that its continued success requires the highest commitment to obtaining and retaining a diverse staff that provides the best quality services to supporters and constituents. The DPVA is an equal opportunity employer and it is our policy to recruit, hire, train, promote and administer any and all personnel actions without regard to sex, race, age, color, creed, national origin, religion, economic status, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity or expression, ethnic identity or physical disability, or any other legally protected basis. The DPVA will not tolerate any unlawful discrimination and any such conduct is strictly prohibited.