“Michigan is a critical state to win this election and that’s why we received the second largest investment of the 11 battleground states in our national program for hiring fellows,” Jay Williamson, NextGen Michigan State Director, stated in a press release. “On our biggest campus, we’ll have up to nine fellows working to digitally organize. ... We know the importance of meeting people where they are and have found mobilization resonates better when coming from your peers.”

According to Lateshia Parker, NextGen Michigan’s press secretary, the fellowship program was launched because of the importance young voters in particular have in the upcoming election. 

“This is the most important election of our lifetime, to be completely honest,” Parker said. “It seems as though a lot of people — especially a lot of young voters — are realizing that, and this is a way for you to help encourage other people to get out and vote, as well.”

With the goal of pledging more than 26,000 young people in the state to vote in the looming election NextGen Michigan already sent absentee ballot applications to young voters in partnership with America Votes.

According to Parker, a large portion of the fellowship will be dedicated to following up on those absent voter applications to assure they are being filled out and turned in, and to answer any questions about the absentee voting process.

Fellows will additionally play a large role in “class raps,” virtual classroom presentation campaigns in which fellows meet with different classes and explain the process of and importance of voting and absentee ballot applications.

“A big portion of the fellowship is educating young voters on why their vote matters, connecting them to the issues that matter most to them,” Parker said. “If you’re passionate about issues that matter to you, then this would be a perfect opportunity for you.”

Another goal of the fellowship is to educate young people on how to register to vote. 

Parker said one issue that many college students have with registering to vote is not knowing whether to use their home or school address. She encouraged students to register where they will be on Election Day.

“If you’re going to be on campus, register on campus so that you can receive it at that campus location and mail it back instead of having to deal with the back and forth of where your permanent residence may be,” Parker said.

Parker also urged young voters to apply to vote absentee as soon as possible.

“Everything must be done early,” Parker said. “Within Michigan, you can get your absentee ballot 45 days before the election. You can vote 45 days before. So, we’ll just be encouraging people to vote early.”

The fellowship pays $1,050 a month for 15 hours a week until the election. The application can be found here.