Local Political Expert (Maine) — Elections Forecasting & Political Risk

$100–200/hr

rate as listed

Workload: ~15h/week
Engagement: Project-based
Location: Worldwide
Field: Sciences

Author point-in-time forecasts and political-risk reports on Maine elections, polling and statewide contests. Review AI-generated analysis against evidence available at a fixed cutoff, without hindsight or non-public information.

The work

You will produce expert political reports and forecasts focused on current, upcoming or recent Maine Senate, governor and statewide races. Tasks include interpreting polls, assigning or critiquing win probabilities, comparing judgments with market-implied odds, and explaining how political events could affect electoral and market outcomes.

What the screen assesses

Mercor is looking for direct knowledge of Maine candidates, voters and political conditions, backed by work on live races rather than retrospective commentary. Screening is likely to test polling literacy, probabilistic judgment, causal analysis and your ability to reconstruct what a capable analyst could reasonably have concluded at a stated evidence cutoff. You may also be asked to identify hindsight, data leakage, unsupported certainty or weak causal reasoning in model-generated reports.

Practical details

The listing does not specify whether the engagement is remote, whether tasks are fully asynchronous or how many hours are typically available. Candidates should be ready to state realistic availability and confirm scheduling expectations with Mercor. Pay band: $100–200/hr

What they look for

Direct analytical experience with current, upcoming or recent Maine elections
Documented live judgments about polling, win probabilities or electoral odds
Strong polling and survey-methodology literacy
Point-in-time forecasting without hindsight or non-public information
Causal analysis of political events and their electoral or market effects
Ability to evaluate and grade model-generated political analysis

Included with this listing

Interview prep — 10 questions

Matched to what this platform's screening actually measures. Answer each out loud in 60–90 seconds: claim → concrete example → implication.

What it tests: This tests whether your Maine expertise comes from operational exposure to a specific live contest rather than general familiarity with state politics.
A strong answer: Identify the race, cycle, organization and your exact analytical responsibilities, then name the decisions or outputs your work informed. Separate your own contribution from the broader team's work.
Where people lose it: Candidates lose points by discussing Maine politics broadly without identifying a race, a dated responsibility or a concrete analytical product.

Summary, eligibility guidance and screening preparation are prepared by Sidequest from the platform's posting. Check the source listing before applying.