DEERFIELD — Love them or hate them, political parties play a big role in American government. But how do they work?

In a bipartisan educational effort, Massachusetts party leaders Amy Carnevale (Republican State Committee chair) and Steve Kerrigan (Democratic State Committee chair) sat down for a conversation on “Political Parties in Polarized Times” at Deerfield Academy on Tuesday.

The conversation was a key event in the private school’s “24 for ’24: Election Education and Expressive Freedom” series. Director of Educational Initiatives David Miller explained Deerfield Academy planned the series of three events per week for the eight weeks leading up to the November election, making for a total of 24 events. They vary in content, but all seek to inform students on different aspects of elections.

Anne Bruder, dean of academic affairs, added that “Political Parties in Polarized Times” was designed to examine the role of political parties and how they function during election cycles.

“We’re trying to shine a light on political parties in a purely educational way,” Bruder explained, “and bring together two people who almost never share a stage and model how we can learn across a political divide.”

Tuesday’s discussion ranged from the structure and daily operations of a political party to their goals for the upcoming election.

“Basically, the political party is a way to identify candidates, where they stand on the issues, and the party itself is an apparatus to support candidates,” Carnevale said. “The No. 1 responsibility of a political party is to elect candidates.”

Kerrigan explained that political parties work to raise funds, organize resources, recruit potential candidates, aid in managing campaigns, and support candidates both locally and nationwide.

“Massachusetts has two great exports: political activists and cranberries,” Kerrigan said.

Kerrigan said that since its founding, Massachusetts has been a political leader and, to this day, the state’s politicians serve as role models for campaigns across the nation. The Democratic Party often sends members and money to support Democrats in other states.

In addition to supporting candidates for the top national offices, the parties work to support candidates vying for seats on the state Legislature.

“Democracy demands two parties and debate,” Carnevale said.

Carnevale explained that while the national party focuses on national and international issues while campaigning, she likes to keep it local. While campaigning, she prefers to focus on the issues impacting Massachusetts residents and how Republicans on Beacon Hill can help.

According to the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Office, in August there were more than 5.05 million registered voters in Massachusetts. Of those, nearly 1.33 million are registered as Democrats, 418,899 are Republicans, and the rest are either registered to another party or are unenrolled.

Carnevale said while the majority of voters are unenrolled in Massachusetts, those who do vote tend to favor Democratic candidates, particularly in election years. This year, though, she hopes to change that and flip more seats in the State House.

Kerrigan said the Democratic Party has done well in the past few elections and he hopes it can maintain that progress. Currently, Massachusetts has a Democratic trifecta, with Democrats controlling the Senate, House and Governor’s Office.

Kerrigan and Carnevale agreed that reaching their respective party’s goals would require connecting with young voters and spreading their messages.

“You will be the most influential and important voting block in the history of the United States of America,” Kerrigan told the Deerfield Academy students. “You have an incredible responsibility to the work that you are going to do as a citizen of this country.”