Sophomore Yolanie Cuevas’ sociology homework included finding a way to get inside a Los Angeles apartment building to knock on doors of potential voters. For her classmate Caleb Polster, also a sophomore, the barrier to completing his assignment was even greater. He had to figure out how to canvass for a candidate in rural Northern California who had no volunteer infrastructure at all.

These challenges were part of the fall quarter course The 2026 U.S. Election: How to Understand and Participate, taught by Michael Rosenfeld, professor of sociology in the School of Humanities and Sciences. To deliver on both parts of its title, the course meets for lecture and in discussion sections where students talk about the results of their required fieldwork volunteering for a campaign. Cross-listed in American studies, political science, and public policy, the course attracted 42 undergraduate and graduate students spanning those interests.

“There’s a tremendous amount to be learned about the world through simple engagement with it,” Rosenfeld said. “You can’t just read the theory. You have to actually put it into action, and engaging with other people will teach you all the things you didn’t know about how politics works.”

On the theory side, the students read and discuss texts about the history and ideas of American democracy as well as issues of voter rights, political polarization, political lies, voter fraud, and disenfranchisement. They also keep up with news about gerrymandering, election law, and election interference.

But it is the fieldwork component that is perhaps the most unique. In addition to registering to vote and voting – a requirement for every eligible student – they also chose a candidate or issue that they wanted to promote. The students then volunteered to make phone calls, canvass, or otherwise persuade people to vote for their cause. In the discussion sections, they made presentations about their campaign and discussed their work with their peers and instructors. Now that the election is over, they will conduct a “postmortem” report on the results.

Finding a good volunteer opportunity can be the most difficult part, Rosenfeld said. One thing the students quickly learned is that there’s no real contest for many races. For instance, of the 435 members of Congress, less than 10% are in competitive districts. Also, some campaigns may not use volunteers at all, relying solely on advertising and paid canvassers. Rosenfeld calls these “astroturf” campaigns, since they only have the appearance of grassroots support.

All politics is local

Cuevas, who grew up in Los Angeles, wanted to focus on her hometown and had a few competitive races to choose from. She ambitiously chose to volunteer for two, a congressional and a mayoral candidate. A first-generation college student who grew up in a low-income community, Cuevas describes herself as very political.

“I’m very interested in why people don’t vote and what contributes to that,” said Cuevas, who plans to major in public policy. “Everything about my life was super political: the air I breathed, the area where I lived, how people were pushed out of our neighborhood – my very existence is political. I couldn’t fathom why others in my community wouldn’t say the same.”

She was excited about the potential of Angela Gonzales-Torres, a democratic socialist challenger who won the 34th U.S. Congressional District seat. Cuevas was perhaps even more motivated by what the incumbent, Democrat Jimmy Gomez, hadn’t done for her community.

On a trip home, she was able to knock on doors for Gonzales-Torres. In her pitch to voters, she first asked: “Do you know who your congressional member is?” If they said “no,” she replied: “That’s my point. I think you deserve someone who’s going to be there for you.” She then told them how much more her candidate could do and answered their questions.