Hold three friends accountable to vote on May 25

Great Falls Tribune

In the final weeks before our U.S. House special election, a Rob Quist or Greg Gianforte campaign representative may knock on your door or give you a call. Let’s say this happens and after a short conversation you say, “Yes, I’m absolutely voting for your candidate.”

Because of your enthusiasm, the campaign representative asks for your help getting three more votes. You are told there are two ways to do this. Option A: Donate $1,101, the amount Yale University political scientist Alan Gerber reports can be needed in a typical U.S. House race to turn out three more votes. Option B: Hold three people accountable to vote. They can be your spouse, child, co-worker, anyone. Given the high degree of trust you have with them, this should take no more than five minutes.

Which did you pick?

If you selected “Option B,” you are not alone. “Three Montana Votes”—a non-partisan initiative I started to help Montanans hold three friends accountable to vote on May 25—has registered hundreds of Montanans since launching in April. A few days before our election, my team will: (i) remind registrants to vote and (ii) will give them cutting-edge, behavioral science-based tools to get three friends to vote. In doing so, we are amplifying the voices of everyday Montanans and improving the chance that the victor of this election is the choice of Montanans, not the purchase of out-of-state political funders.

Will you hold three friends accountable to vote on May 25? I hope so. If you’d like our help, visit our Facebook page, “3MTvotes,” and complete our 15-second survey so we know how to connect with you ahead of our election.

Robert Reynolds of Miles City is a Harvard-trained behavioral science researcher.