Thanks a Thousand: Election Edition (plus Flour Power!)

I wouldn’t say this is the most relaxing election cycle of my lifetime. I wouldn’t say that it’s akin to taking a warm bubble bath surrounded by pomegranate-scented candles. I don’t find it similar to lying in a tropical hammock enjoying a gentle breeze and an iced mojito.

But I also don’t find it helpful — for my mental health or in my role as a citizen— to wallow in fear or anger or despair.

So…here are just two of the things I’m doing to try to counter the stress:

1) Thanks a Thousand: Election Edition

As some of you know, a few years ago, I wrote a book called “Thanks a Thousand” in which I traveled around the globe in a quest to thank a thousand people who had anything to do with my morning cup of coffee. I thanked the barista at my New York coffee shop and went to Colombia and thanked the coffee farmers. But I took it wide — I thanked the truck driver who drove the coffee beans, and the folks who paved the road so the truck driver had a place to drive, and the pest control person at the coffee warehouse. It was a tad excessive, perhaps, but it reminded me of the hundreds of people it takes to make anything possible - even a simple cup of coffee.

The same goes for voting. So I’m doing a (scaled-down) version of that Gratitude Project for all those who make Election Day - and therefore democracy - possible. I’ve been emailing or thanking in person just a handful of the brave and committed folks who are trying to ensure our right to vote and the peaceful transfer of power.

Just a small sampling of those I’ve been emailing:

—The bi-partisan New York City Election Board

—The Center for Civic Design, a nonprofit that helps local officials design voter-friendly ballots, including Emma Werowinski, head of Design Practice.

—The folks at Election Systems & Software, which make the ballot counting machines for New York.

—-Janet Boudreau, the North Carolina-based woman who invented the “I voted” stickers

—Those who certify the election results despite threats.

—The federally-approved observers who monitor polling places.

And then there are those I got to thank in person — the election workers at the high school cafeteria near our apartment. Yesterday, Julie and my sons went to do early voting. Two of my sons recently turned 18, so it was their maiden voting voyage. And New York did not disappoint. When the election workers found out, they shouted “First time voter!” and initiated two rounds of cheers and applause.

I also want to thank the bakers for democracy. Which leads into the second part of my plan to ward off despair and nihilism:

2) The Election Cake Project

Also known by its new nickname: Flour Power. As some of you might know, one of my favorite parts of writing my last book, The Year of Living Constitutionally, was reviving the 18th-century tradition of baking Election Cakes.

The background is this: In the United States’ early years, many Americans baked cakes on Election Day. The idea was to celebrate this amazing, awe-inspiring new right to choose their own leaders (with the huge caveat that only some of the populace was given the right to vote, and others have had to fight for it over the centuries).

Last year, while writing the book, I had a revelation: Let’s bring back cake! Let’s remind people  Democracy is sweet.

And with the help of more than 200 democracy-loving bakers, Election Cakes did come back. At least a bit. In November of last year, amateur pastry chefs from around the country (we had at least one baker in all fifty states) made cakes and brought them to the polls — or just shared with family or co-workers.

It was such a joyous little slice of positivity in an otherwise stressful political time — as evidenced by so many lovely photos and emails from bakers around the country — that I decided we should do it again. So check out Baking for Democracy 2024.

I don’t think baking cakes is going to solve all of democracy’s problems. But I like to think of it as a gateway carb. It gets me participating in the civic process. And then my fellow bakers and I can perhaps use that momentum to address some of the real problems with our democracy: gerrymandering, the electoral college, and the fact that 600,000 citizens in Washington D.C. aren’t properly represented in the House or Senate.

The traditional Election Cake recipe (first published in 1796) contains ingredients such as figs, cinnamon, cloves, raisins, and nutmeg. So it’s not to everyone’s taste. But the Bakers For Democracy showed American ingenuity in remaking the recipe for modern times (including peaches in the Georgia Cake).

And the creativity continued in the decorations. Iowa’s Dawn Barker Anderson arranged nineteen raspberries in the shape of a check mark to represent the Nineteenth Amendment. Virginia’s Rachael Dickson topped her cake with a tiny—working!—Revolutionary War cannon. My mom made Election Cupcakes in ice cream cones (a great American invention).

We’re already getting photos of cakes this year, including a symbolic Jenga-shaped cake to represent the fragility of democracy.

Last year, Julie and I baked a sheet cake in the shape of the Constitution with the words of the preamble written in icing.

This year, our plan is to make the cake in the shape of the map of the United States, with little fondant symbols for each state: A tiny edible St. Louis arch for Missouri, a little sunflower for Kansas.

It’s not too late to join the Election Cake movement. The basic steps are pretty simple:

—Bake a cake on or before Election Day.

—Take photos of the cake.

—Put the photos on social media.

The instructions are pinned at the top of the Election Cake Project Facebook page.

Please feel free to comment below with suggestions for slogans for the ever-growing Election Cake movement. So far we’ve got: (a) Democracy is Sweet, (b) Flour Power, and (C) The Great A-Bakening.