Democracy Campaign Internship – President’s Office – Public Citizen

Democracy in the United States is under systematic attack – we are seeing the autocratic playbook unfold across the country, corruption is on the rise, the freedom to vote is being assaulted and the security of our elections is threatened.

Join Public Citizen’s Democracy team in mobilizing the power of the people to combat these threats, empower individuals to participate in our elections and defend our democracy.

The Democracy Campaign has senior staff in our Washington, D.C. and Syracuse, New York offices and has a team of in-person and hybrid interns and fellows working throughout the country.

The Democracy Campaign is running three intern programs in the spring: Mobilization, Campus Organizing and Protect Elections.

Mobilization

Alongside partner organizations like MoveOn, Indivisible, ACLU and others, Public Citizen plans and executes national coordinated mass mobilizations to organize against rising authoritarianism. Some of the recent mobilizations we’ve played a key role in include No Kings, Workers Over Billionaires, We Are All DC and more. Mobilization interns will get hands-on experience and learn about what it takes to plan, coordinate, and execute national mass mobilizations. No two days look the same on this team as we work to respond to the threats from the Trump administration. This internship will have a hybrid schedule, with at least one day in the Public Citizen DC office each week. This internship also requires providing event support for in-person DC events that Public Citizen is a part of such as rallies, press conferences on Capitol Hill. There may be occasional evening, weekend or holiday events.

Campus Organizing

Frontline for Freedom — the student campaign of Public Citizen & over 20 partner organizations — is a national network of students & movement partners resisting Trump’s autocratic attacks on our rights, and demanding the thriving democracy & education this generation deserves. We organize cross-campus calls, mobilizations, and leadership development to protect students’ First Amendment rights and build student power. As a core partner of Students Rise Up / Project Rise Up (a coalition of students & labor to disrupt business as usual) we supported 100+ actions across the country on November 7th, calling on university administrations to reject Trump’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”. Student campaign interns will support student organizing and campaign strategy by recruiting and engaging student leaders, creating social media graphics and training materials, and assisting with national student actions (May Day 2026). This internship will have a hybrid schedule, with two days in the Public Citizen DC office each week.

Protect Elections

The Trump administration fired the nation’s election cybersecurity staff, is withholding election funding from states, and is threatening to prosecute election officials and seize voting machines. The administration and likeminded state officials are making it harder for Americans to vote and encouraging officials to upload our voter data to the Department of Homeland Security.

States and cities do have significant power of their own to protect their own citizens, public officials and democracy. The Protect Elections internship offers you a chance to be part of this vital effort to stand up for free and fair elections for all, and to pass policies to protect the rule of law and our rights and freedoms. This internship is a research heavy role. Interest, not just in policy, but understanding of power dynamics and politics is vital.

In your application, please make sure that you specify which program you are interested in, in the subject line: Mobilization, Campus Organizing, or Protect Elections.

Responsibilities and Qualifications

You’ll be working closely with our team to execute the programs we’re running. Some of your responsibilities could include:

• Working with activists around the country – whether it’s recruitment or providing support for an ongoing action
• Conducting research and writing on democracy-related issues
• Tracking the news and social media on our actions
• Providing event support such as securing permits, assisting check-in, etc

This is an internship and we don’t expect you to have a lot of prior experience. But these are some qualifications and characteristics that we believe are necessary for you to be successful in this role:

• Strong project management and self-starting characteristics
• Eagerness to learn new, complex material quickly
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, balance multiple projects and execute plans while reacting to new developments and maintaining accuracy and attention to detail
• Collaborative spirit, high energy, and enthusiasm
• Comfortable cold calling and talking to people on the phone

To Apply:

Public Citizen internships are available year round. Our internships are up to 40 hours a week for eight to ten weeks. Depending on school schedules, most interns work between 15-25 hours per week. At this time, we are only offering unpaid internships (credit can be arranged). Duties can be performed remotely, but we have a strong preference for DC-based candidates to meet our team’s current needs.

The expected start date for the internships is Tuesday, January 13, 2026.

Please send your cover letter and resume to Public Citizen, DemocracyIntern@citizen.org.

Please make sure that you specify which program you are interested in, in the subject line (ie. Mobilization- Full Name): Mobilization, Campus Organizing, or Protect Elections.

Be sure to include what makes you passionate about the internship and past experiences you would bring to the campaign. Applications that are missing these key details are typically not considered.

We are currently accepting applications and interviewing for positions on a rolling basis. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible to be competitive. Public Citizen is an equal opportunity employer. women, people of color and LBGT candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.