Ben & Jerry's hands out free ice cream in Dallas in exchange for pledge to vote for president

It's really free: That's what Ben & Jerry's truck drivers Jana Steele and Dan Bookmiller continually reminded passersby as they handed out scoops of ice cream in Dallas recently. It seems a little too good to be true.

Anyone who gets free ice cream is encouraged to fill out a postcard that will be mailed home in a few months, reminding you to get out to the polls and vote for president.

The effort is part of Ben & Jerry's Texas Churned Tour, which also hit Dallas last summer. The truck will park at major events in Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio all summer and offer free scoops of Bourbon Pecan Pie, Brownie Batter or vegan PB & Cookies. 

Wait a minute: Ben & Jerry's co-founders are fervent supporters of Bernie Sanders. So does the free ice cream mean a promise to vote for Bernie?

No, says Steele. Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen is a Bernie supporter; he made a Sanders-specific flavor of ice cream for "Vermont's finest senator." And Cohen and co-founder Jerry Greenfield were arrested recently at the U.S. Capitol for protesting during a non-partisan demonstration.

The postcard that Texans will fill out doesn't ask about political affiliation. The aim, says Steele, is just to get people voting. The Texas Tribune noted in March that Texas saw the second-lowest voter turnout in the primaries at that time. Historically, voter turnout in Texas is "indisputably awful," notes a 2014 New York Times story. The last presidential year, in 2012, Texas ranked No. 48 for voter turnout, says the Washington Post.

So yeah, we could use a nudge. Will free ice cream do it?

The truck will be back in Dallas for Homegrown Music Fest on May 14. The truck's summer schedule in Dallas hasn't been set yet, so check @BenJerrysTexas to find it. They may even come to your office or event and hand out free ice cream if you ask.