Vote Smart organization to move headquarters to Des Moines
Drake University will soon be home to one of the world’s leading sources of nonpartisan political information. Vote Smart, formerly known as Project Vote Smart, will move its operation from a secluded ranch in Montana to a university-owned office space adjacent to Drake’s campus in Des Moines early next year. The move will bring 23 full-time jobs to the city and generate as many as 70 year-round internship opportunities for students at Drake and other local colleges and universities, the university said in a release. Drake expects the partnership to generate internship opportunities for students in areas traditionally associated with politics, including political science, strategic political communications, sociology and rhetoric, but also in fields like data analytics, computer science and graphic design, which help the organization to analyze and visualize information. Representatives from Iowa State University, Grand View University, and Des Moines Area Community College have also expressed an interest in offering Vote Smart internships to their students.