Cupcakes for Votes

From a Selection of Nonfiction Works

By Katrina Ryan, as told to Emily Palmer

Katrina Ryan is the owner of Sugarland, a bakery with locations in Chapel Hill and Raleigh. Since opening her shop on Franklin Street in 2008, Ryan has merged her passion for sweets with her dedication to civic responsibility. Ryan has traded cupcakes for “I Voted” stickers since the May 2008 primary. She estimates that she has given away $25,000 worth of cupcakes so far.

Voting is something that is special, and it is something that everybody has the right to do. There’s an old saying that history is made by the people who show up. And there is absolutely no time when that is more true than during voting. I care less what your political persuasion is, that you have a reason for having one. That you go out and you participate. Because in the end, the best decisions are made when every single American voice is heard.

It’s sad when the people who are going to have to live the future, don’t participate in the decisions about the future. So if a cupcake is enough to get you to vote, I’m happy to do it, because I think it is a habit that is best started early and often. One thing that we like to see is mom will go and vote and come in with her kids, and everybody gets a cupcake. That really early reinforcement of, “Voting is fun, I get cupcakes!” is a good thing to start.

I am a moderate’s moderate. I am a Clintonian Democrat. This election seems to be very much about a decision of who’s going to own the country. With all of the money in politics, it really disturbs me that corporations can now in essence buy an election. It really disturbs me that we have a political party who believes in freedom for everybody but women and their doctors. It really bothers me that it seems that something as simple as healthcare should be a political ploy. And I hate it when people bring religion into politics. I don’t think God is particularly happy about being brought into the political arena and used as a tool.

I’m a married, suburban woman, small business owner, and I have heard both presidential candidates try and court my vote in a way that is almost ridiculous. I will say that because my company has always given my employees healthcare, the Affordable Care Act, or “ObamaCare,” if you want to call it that, has benefited us greatly. I got not only a tax reduction, but I got a 35 percent tax credit because I didn’t have to give my employees healthcare. Since I’ve always done it, I got $4,000 back this year for providing insurance for my employees. So that was a nice surprise that the rule actually ended up being a benefit to me as a business owner. I have a lot more problem with big business than I do with government, and I don’t think that any politician at this point is willing to take on big business, since there’s so much money in politics, and that’s where it comes from.

Civic duty isn’t political. I absolutely respect everybody’s right to be wrong. And so you don’t have to agree with me to get a free cupcake. Democrat or Republican – neither of that matters to me as much as people making decisions and going to the polls and voting.

Ryan said that she voted early in the election, splitting her ballot between Democrats and Republicans. She kept her doors open until 11 p.m. on Election Day – so no matter how long voters stood in line, they could still get free cupcakes.