[MCN] UPDATE: Beer & ballots at "The Art of the Vote"

[Jenny Mish]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		

UPDATED Non-partisan art event for local balloting
From: U.Lab Missoula Hub
Contact: Jenny Mish
Tel: (406) 240-6474
Email: jmishsings at gmail.com <applewebdata://2907919A-DE0D-43F9-A5C9-FC8596395C52/%22mailto:>

October 28, 2016—LAST-MINUTE BEER AND BALLOTS AT “THE ART OF THE VOTE”
A unique First Friday art event on November 4, “The Art of the Vote,” will turn Imagine Nation Brewing into an official ballot drop-off location staffed by the Missoula County Elections Office. A nearby rotating exhibit of non-partisan art intended to inspire voting will be on display. In another room, The Art of the Vote will host opposing pairs of candidates and issue advocates to chat with undecided voters while drinking beer or kombucha and munching on local eats. 

Candidates for Public Service Commission, County Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace will join advocates for and against Marsy’s Law and initiatives on trapping, medical marijuana, and biomedical research to “agree to disagree without being disagreeable.” However, after appearing together ten times in heated discussions, the candidates for Montana Supreme Court declined to participate. They agreed instead on the same third party, UM law professor Anthony Johnstone, who will be available to discuss their race with interested voters.

“People feel more connected and involved when they can relax and talk with people one-on-one about races that are close to home. These are conversations about local issues and candidates that will directly influence them and their loved ones,” said Jenny Mish, a member of the U.Lab Missoula Hub, which is organizing this event. “We want to help people enjoy themselves and vote the full ballot.”

“The Art of the Vote” will feature a rotating display of “#GoVote” images by hundreds of artists, along with seasonal brews from Imagine Nation Brewing, and local hot dogs and Polish sausages from the Wild Weenie food truck. Voters will be able to see their own ballot online and get information about state and local races from non-partisan voter guides and trained non-partisan voting coaches. Candidates for state legislature, which vary by precinct, will provide campaign literature. 

“Many voters skip over local issues and candidates, even though they care deeply about the impacts of these races,” said Mish. “It can be more difficult to get information about items further down the ballot. But people feel good when they know they did their part. We aim to make that easy. And tasty!”

The event will be held at Imagine Nation Brewing on Friday, November 4 from 5-8pm, with candidates attending from 6-7:30pm.

U.Lab Missoula Hub is a local group organized around an online class offered by the business school at MIT. It is one of over 600 hubs gathering people in 190 countries to learn and apply “Theory U,” a method for responding to systemic challenges by sensing and actualizing “the emerging future that wants to be born.” For more information about U.Lab and Theory U, see www.OttoScharmer.com.

For more information about the #GoVote project, see www.govote.org. 

For more information about Imagine Nation Brewing, see www.imaginenationbrewing.com.

Information about the Art of the Vote event can also be found on Facebook at http://bit.ly/2ePdXOv <http://bit.ly/2ePdXOv>.


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