Ben & Jerry’s is partnering with advocacy group MoveOn to bring free ice cream to Madison on Oct. 5 as part of their “Scoop the Vote” movement, which aims to connect with voters ahead of the upcoming presidential election.
MoveOn’s “Scoop the Vote” tour will stop in more than 20 cities within battleground states, and rallies celebrating Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz will be held in conjunction with an ice cream truck in Ann Arbor, Madison, Phoenix and Las Vegas.
MoveOn, a progressive public policy advocacy group and political action organization, supports causes such as health care reform, climate change action, social justice and electoral reform.
Co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield created an ice cream truck for MoveOn to take on tour through key battleground states as part of a push to register voters while raffling off their limited-edition Kamala Harris-inspired ice cream flavor.
Additionally, the tour will feature elected officials, activists and other special guests. At each stop, MoveOn will help attendees make a plan to vote by Nov. 5 and show them how they can assist friends and family with voting.
Ben & Jerry’s will serve a variety of election-themed ice cream flavors, such as “Unburdened by What has Vanilla Bean,” “Inauguration Celebration Birthday Cake,” “Fight For Our Rights Sorbet” and “MoveOn Mobilizer Milk Chocolate.”
“You can lick and say you care all you want, but if you’re not going for the big scoop — to get registered and vote — at the end of the day, all you’ve got is some drips down your shirt. Go big. Scoop the vote,” Cohen said on MoveOn’s website.
Special edition pints of “Kamala’s Coconut Jubilee,” a coconut-flavored ice cream layered with caramel and topped with patriotic star sprinkles, will be raffled online.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has been nationally recognized for its student voter turnout, and MoveOn hopes to continue encouraging students to vote with their tour. Voter turnout among UW-Madison students reached 55.8% in 2022, compared to the national voting rate of 30.6%.
“For some students, the 2024 general election may be one of the first elections they may be voting in or their first time voting away from home, so we are creating space to spark conversation and civic community over a sweet treat,” Britt Jacovich, a spokesperson for MoveOn, told The Daily Cardinal. “We are reaching beyond traditional methods of voter outreach to find creative ways to connect with communities through common experiences like getting ice cream with a friend.”
It’s no coincidence MoveOn’s visit to Madison will fall on the same day of the Wisconsin Badgers football game against the Purdue Boilermakers.
“We’re coming to Madison on game day since we know Badger fans will be out and about and ready to celebrate,” Jacovich said. “Ice cream is as beloved as an institution as college football is in Madison, and it aligns with our goal to meet voters where they are.”
The event in Madison will be held at noon on Oct. 5, with the location to be announced.
