Democracy Champions

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC) is hiring! We seek to hire numerous part-time Democracy Champions to work 15-hours/week from August 12 to November 9 registering some of the nearly 200,000 Kentuckians with felonies in their past who won back the right to vote a few years ago, asking people to sign petitions to restore the right to vote to more Kentuckians, and inviting people to vote.

Note that only Kentuckians with felonies in their past may apply for this position.  That’s because we know people directly impacted by felony disenfranchisement are the best messengers and spokespeople for this issue. 

(Note: We are also advertising other part-time positions, including Community Event Canvassers, and Data Entry Specialists. You may apply for more than one role.) 

Position Title:  Democracy Champions 

Hours: part-time, 15 hours / week, flexible schedule

Duration: August 12-November 9, 2024

Pay: $28 / hour

Locations include, but are not limited to: Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, Covington and NKY area, Richmond/Berea, Frankfort, Shelbyville, Georgetown, Danville, Morehead, Prestonsburg / Pikeville, Hazard, Corbin / London, Hopkinsville, Madisonville

Who We Are

KFTC is a grassroots organization with thousands of members and a dozen chapters across Kentucky organizing for racial, social, healing, and economic justice, a healthy environment, and an honest democracy. We believe in the power of community organizing – people working together to achieve common goals. It’s a long-term approach that focuses on building and exercising power, especially among people affected by injustice, to improve the quality of life for all. 

KFTC has built up a powerful infrastructure to foster democratic values in our state - through tactics such as targeted voter registration, educating on candidate stances, voter mobilization, training candidates, endorsing candidates, and changing laws to make more space for democracy.

We engage in this work to create an authentic, participatory Democracy, which is needed to create the life Kentuckians deserve.  We want to make elected officials more responsive to Kentuckians as a whole.  We also seek to create an environment in which better candidates will run and get elected.  

KFTC’s grassroots leadership has adopted the following description of what we are working to be and achieve together over the next ten years:

• 2031 Vivid Description: Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is a collective light, leading the way to a thriving, joyful, intergenerational, multi-cultural society where people are free from oppression and where equity, health care, and racial, economic, and social justice exist for everyone. We are a beloved community, where all people are connected and affirmed through healthy relationships, and dedicated to achieving mutual liberation.
• 2031 Audacious Goal: Guided by Black, Indigenous, People of Color and impacted communities, we will recruit, equip, and activate a network of 100,000 members and partners across all 120 counties to dismantle racism and all systems of oppression, to develop a robust democracy and transform the future of Kentucky.

What You’ll Do

You’ll attend a virtual 2-hour training each week with other Kentuckians with felonies in their past to learn more skills to help you find and register people who got their right to vote back recently but who may not know it yet.  These 2-hour trainings are every Tuesday from 11am to 1pm ET and are mandatory.  You’ll need to connect with them from a computer, on camera in a quiet place where you’ll be able to focus and participate.

You’ll also attend a local coordination meeting in your communities on Fridays at 11am (or at another time decided by all participants).  

You will be responsible for finding ways to get out in your community and register people or get petitions signed.  That might include setting up voter registration tables and circulating with clipboards at community festivals, in parks, in front of friendly businesses, going door-to-door, making calls, etc.

You’ll connect with people, listen to their stories and concerns, register people to vote, share information about this issue, and encourage them to get involved in democracy. 

Outside of the 2 hours of scheduled, online training each week, you’ll have a lot of freedom to register voters how you think is best, but you are responsible for making sure registration cards and signed petitions get turned in to KFTC.

You can also expect to spend time talking with voters on the phone, especially on days when the weather is unsafe for tabling and in the weeks between the voter registration deadline (October 7) and the fall election (November 5). During the final month, you will call thousands of voters (including people we registered to vote and/or who signed petitions) to let them know where candidates stand on key issues and share information that supports people to vote. 

Specifically, you will:

• Learn. You will participate in a paid orientation day plus a weekly virtual training. You will gain skills, confidence, and valuable experience on the job. 
• Register voters in prioritized communities and locations. You will staff voter registration tables and/or circulate with a clipboard at community events and venues to register voters and collect petitions. 
• Make phone calls and send texts to people with felonies in their past to help them get registered
• Inform and engage voters. You’ll connect with voters around key issues, candidates, how to register, the voting process, and ways to get involved, including as volunteers.
• Take pictures and collect quotes from people you meet at events
• Ensure all voter registration cards are protected and turned in safely and promptly, according to procedures.
• Comply with organizational rules and procedures, including legal and COVID guidelines.
• Contribute to a culture of mutual respect, support, accountability, appreciation, good working relationships, and constructive communication with your supervisor, co-workers, and volunteers.
• Mobilize voters through phone calls
• Be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and willing to take other precautions (including masking indoors when at work) to keep our members, staff, and the public safe.
• Other duties as assigned

We’re looking for people who are:

• Kentuckians who have felonies in their past (whether you’ve had your right to vote restored or not)
• Committed to racial justice, anti-colonialism, equity, inclusion and democracy
• Able to work and connect well with diverse people, especially Black and Brown Kentuckians, low-income and working class folks, young people, LGBTQ+ folks, disabled Kentuckians, and others whose voices and votes are too often discounted.
• Committed to the mission and values of KFTC
• Excited about doing public outreach, deep listening, and connecting with voters at tables, events, and by phone.
• Self-motivated and independent, and also work effectively in teams
• Reliable, organized, and responsive. Able to ask for help when needed.
• Coachable, excited to learn, eager to teach others. 
• Able to follow procedures and instructions with a high degree of accuracy and minimal supervision. 
• Committed to safeguarding confidential or sensitive voter data and information.
• Self-directed, confident, capable
• Collaborative, patient, hopeful
• Able to de-escalate and stay calm in potentially contentious situations. 
• Introspective and committed to lifelong learning with a strong, ever-growing, and intricate knowledge of self.
• Able to prioritize self-care for the purpose of collective care, as it is intrinsically tied to the energy infused in the work.

What Else You Should Know

• You will be required to participate in a paid, in-person orientation starting August 12 in Lexington  and in weekly on-line zoom trainings after that.
• This position offers $50 / month to compensate for a cell phone that you use for work, and provides reimbursement of $.46 / mile if you use your own vehicle for authorized work. 
• This position requires moderate local travel.
• You must have access to a car you can use for local work related travel and/or be able to show up reliably and on-time to a wide range of local community locations using a bike or public transportation.
• You will be supported by a KFTC staff leader, and may work independently or in collaboration with other KFTC organizers, volunteers, and paid canvassers depending on your geography.
• KFTC is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage BIPOC people, Kentuckians with felonies in their past, women, and LGBTQ individuals to apply for open positions.

How to apply

• Please complete this online application before July 3 at midnight.
• To ensure that all qualified applicants are fairly considered for these roles, KFTC is not requiring that applicants submit a cover letter or resume. Please take your time with the application and tell us about yourself and your interest in and qualifications for this role. We don’t care about your grammar. We want to learn what’s important for us to know about you.  
• We’ll be scheduling interviews starting July 8.

If you have questions about this position please email [email protected] and put “Democracy Champions” in the subject line.