Policy Staff Writer (Remote)

About the role

Ballotpedia seeks a full-time, 100% remote Staff Writer to join our Policy Team. The Policy Team researches, curates, and neutrally presents the basic facts, key terms, and core arguments surrounding important public policy debates in America. As a Policy Staff Writer, you will help expand our coverage of public policy verticals and close the political information gap by building indices of key arguments, participating in large 50-state research projects, and maintaining and improving existing Ballotpedia coverage. The day-to-day work balances writing and research, including creating encyclopedic pages and promotional content to break down complex policy terms, court cases, arguments, and reform proposals for the average reader.

Responsibilities

• Generate content about complex topics in a neutral, clear, and concise manner
• Become a content expert in assigned policy coverage areas by reading extensively
• Create and edit articles on court cases, laws, executive orders, key terms, influencers, and scholarly work
• Identify and curate arguments for and against proposed policy changes
• Track proposed policy reforms and news events to keep coverage up to date
• Read scholarly work to identify gaps in related content and incorporate findings
• Promote compelling stories with strong headlines
• Host and lead webinars, draft presentations, and incorporate feedback
• Contribute ideas and draft content for recurring newsletters
• Produce educational outreach opportunities, including Learning Journeys and Learning Expeditions
• Contribute to topical webinars on breaking news
• Proofread content effectively and consistently
• Analyze court decisions and track legislation across the 50 states to identify policy trends
• Participate in recurring team book clubs
• Travel to and attend related events as needed

Requirements

• Demonstrated passion for Ballotpedia's mission
• Knowledge of the United States political system
• Personal interest in U.S. policy, with professional experience in covering federal or state lawmaking as a benefit
• Desire to work collaboratively with staff from multiple departments
• Comfort seeking and responding to feedback
• Drive for innovation, flexibility, and proactive problem-solving
• Self-awareness and commitment to constant improvement
• Interest in or experience using AI tools to increase productivity
• Familiarity with the administrative state, federal rulemaking process, or public assistance programs (e.g., SNAP, Medicaid) is preferred

Skills

• Professional, helpful, and pleasant interaction with donors, stakeholders, and media
• Use and generation of complex procedure checklist documentation
• Editing content from multiple perspectives to identify improvement opportunities
• Mastery of Ballotpedia's taxonomy of bias and Style Guide
• Application of feedback from Master Classes
• Identification of policy trends spanning multiple areas
• Ability to work with breaking news and developing stories
• Judgment in determining which news stories merit coverage
• Efficient research and sourcing
• Professional collaboration with coworkers and external partners
• Innovation to improve work processes and content quality
• Creative thinking to include additional content beyond standard article components
• Mastery of complex tools such as templates and spreadsheets

Environment

This is a fully remote position. All Ballotpedia staff work remotely and must have a computer with internet access. Familiarity with Google Workspace (Gmail, Google Calendar, Drive), Slack, and Asana is helpful. Ballotpedia offers a flexible work environment with unlimited vacation and scheduling flexibility.

Pay

The starting pay for the Policy Staff Writer is $42,500–$44,000. In addition to salary, Ballotpedia offers performance-based bonuses and an $8,000 annual benefits stipend, which may be used for health, vision, dental insurance, retirement accounts, or other benefits. If benefits are not elected, the stipend is taxed as regular income and added to salary.