“Democracy is not a spectator sport.”

–Marian Wright Edelman (b. 1939; pioneering civil rights leader and founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, advocating tirelessly for children’s rights and social justice.)

Gobsmacked is what I am. Absolutely gobsmacked. You would be too if you were looking at the recipe that has captured my fancy. You might want to sit down before I share some details with you. Descended from Great Cakes, this cake is anything but a lightweight! Take a look at the ingredients—they’re enough to feed an army and keep their spirits high!

● 30 quarts of flour
● 10 pounds of butter
● 14 pounds of sugar
● 12 pounds of raisins
● 36 eggs
● 1 pint of wine
● 1 quart of brandy
● Spices beyond belief

OMG. With all of that booze, I’m ready to start singing “Happy Days Are Here Again.” I don’t know about you, but I sure could use a Triple Sec of cheer and joy to see me through today, tomorrow’s election, and the four years ahead.

But for today, “Don’t Worry. Be Happy.” At the same time, I’m not about to bake that cake! There’s just no way that I’m going to bake that cake. It would never fit into my ovens, not even both of them. I don’t feel too bad, though, because it wouldn’t have fit into a regular Colonial American oven either. Back then, it had to be baked in a communal oven.

“Communal oven!” someone just screamed.

Absolutely! A communal oven. It’s a reminder of how this country, in all its diversity, has always come together for one purpose—just as we’ll be doing tomorrow at the voting booth.

Someone else queried, “Is the Good Professor half baked?“

“He’s beyond half-baked,” someone else retorted. “He’s mixing this up. It’s more of his preposterous dough-hook nonsense.”

Excuse me! I am not half-baked, and I am not making this up. Those are the ingredients for an Election Day Cake recipe published by Amelia Simmons, “An American Orphan,” in her 47-page American Cookery (1796), America’s first cookbook. And get this. The Library of Congress has designated it as one of the “88 Books that Shaped America.” So there! Get off my bake!

Election Day in Colonial America was a holiday, and even though women couldn’t vote, their involvement in the voting process brought a unique flavor to the honor and privilege of voting. The Election Day Cake, hearty and full of energy, kept weary voters going—many of whom had traveled great distances just to make their voices heard. The bustling crowds and the special refreshments turned Election Day into a lively, festive event.

Fortunately, times have changed, allowing everyone, regardless of background, a place in our democracy to help bake a future for all Americans. Now women are welcome at the polls, and men are welcome in the kitchen. And that’s exactly where you would have found me yesterday, but I wasn’t baking that cake, only because it’s way too big. But since tomorrow is our opportunity to vote for a future that never mattered more in the history of our country than now, I made a scaled-back version of that Election Day Cake. I soaked the dried fruits in Cointreau for a week, and you can take it from me: the fruits and the Cointreau tasted exceptionally fine! To make this cake even more special, I pulled out my own sourdough, spawned right here on my mountain. After all, Colonial cooks would have used sourdough, too. (Remember, commercial yeast didn’t rise up until the 19th century.)

My bake is a celebration of our right to vote, gifted from past generations who fought to make it possible.

My bake binds me to community and civic pride, and its rich and layered flavors will remind me of how voting unites diverse voices into a single, shared event.

My bake speaks our collective voices, our collective choices, and our collective hopes for a future that embodies the best of America, for all Americans.

My bake is a melting pot of democracy, assuring me that every vote connects us to a shared history steeped in the sense of being part of something bigger. Each ingredient, like each vote, contributes to the rich, diverse flavor of our nation—just as every voice shapes a stronger, more inclusive democracy.

Tomorrow, when I vote, my bake will remind me that I’m fulfilling my civic duty.

Tomorrow, when I vote, my choice will be conscious and deliberate, cast for a future where our country grows stronger, becomes more unified, and remains true to the ideals we’ve fought to protect.

Tomorrow, when I vote, my ballot will be my celebration of democracy’s sweet fruits, honoring the values that make me proud to be an American.

Tomorrow, when I vote, I’ll be reminded that each of us has a critically important, once-in-a-lifetime, now-or-never obligation to fulfill as we come together united as one nation to “bake the vote” and to chart a new way forward.