Missoula County Democrats launch weekly show, urge voters to prepare for June 2 primary and spotlight "Montana plan" initiative

Andy Nelson, chair of the Missoula County Democratic Party, and Allison Wilson, the party organizer, opened the first Missoula Dem Show from MCAT studios at the Missoula Public Library to promote local civic engagement and explain how listeners can take part in upcoming elections.

"Our goal is to provide public discourse, educate the community about what we're working on," Nelson said, introducing the weekly program and inviting people to the party's regular meetings. Nelson said the central committee meets the second Wednesday of each month and encouraged listeners to attend the next meeting on June 10 at the Gallagher Business Building at the University of Montana, where immigration attorney Carrie Hong will speak from 6 to 7 p.m.

Allison Wilson outlined the party's get‑out‑the‑vote plan ahead of the June 2 mail‑in primary, announcing phone‑bank and text‑bank shifts on May 31 (2–5 p.m., Good Works Ventures, 129 W. Alder St.) and June 1 (4–7 p.m., via Zoom). "Bring your phone and a laptop and you can start calling some of your neighbors just to remind them to turn in their ballot," Wilson said.

Nelson warned voters about recent changes to Montana's ballot requirements. He said ballots must include a signature, a date and the voter's birth year or they risk being discarded. "If those 3 things aren't done, they will throw your ballot out and it will be discarded," Nelson said, adding that nearly 700 early ballots had already been rejected this cycle.

Wilson told listeners they can track mailed ballots at voterportal.mt.gov and noted that Montana's primary envelopes include three party ballots but voters should return only one. "Only return one of those," she said, urging residents to check their materials and consider hand‑delivering ballots after the May 25 mailing cutoff to ensure they are counted.

Nelson also used the program to promote the Transparent Election Initiative, which he called the "Montana plan," a citizen initiative intended to reduce dark‑money influence in state elections. Nelson framed the effort as a response to campaign spending trends since the 2010 Citizens United decision and noted Pete Buttigieg recently endorsed the initiative. "If you haven't heard of this yet, listen up because it's really important," he said.

The hosts directed listeners to missoulademocrats.org for candidate information and volunteer signups and to MCAT's YouTube channel for recorded candidate forums. They closed by urging viewers to register and vote on June 2.

The Missoula County Democrats said the show will run weekly on MCAT and will continue to promote local engagement and volunteer opportunities.