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With early voting underway in Texas ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3, several Austin restaurants, bars, cafes and other local businesses are rewarding voters who show their "I Voted" sticker. Offers include a free cookie at Boni's Bar Next Door, a free glass at Flo's Wine Bar, a free cheese item at Spread & Co., a free drink at Far Out Lounge, a discounted drink at Later Gator Coffee, a free class pass at Black Swan Yoga, and discounted drinks and food at other local spots. Most promotions run through Election Day, though some end earlier. The initiative reflects a broader tradition of local businesses incentivizing civic participation during election periods.

Three Brothers Bakery in Houston has revived its novelty "cookie poll," letting customers cast informal votes by purchasing cookies decorated as candidates in the Texas U.S. Senate race. As of mid-October, state Rep. James Talarico has sold nearly 2,000 cookies, far outpacing Attorney General Ken Paxton and the bakery's gingerbread mascot, Gingy, with more than 2,200 cookies sold total across its four locations.

The bakery has run these polls since 2011, and its track record predicting real election outcomes is mixed. It correctly picked Trump's wins in 2016 and 2024, but missed on Obama in 2012, Biden in 2020 and Greg Abbott's 2022 reelection over Beto O'Rourke, each time favoring the eventual loser. While lighthearted, the poll has drawn attention as a local cultural barometer amid heightened interest in the Talarico-Paxton contest ahead of November's election, even as its predictive value remains largely anecdotal.

Holly Thomas, owner of Holly's Sweet Treats in Hutchinson, Kansas, says Sen. Roger Marshall's 2020 primary campaign never paid a $678.75 invoice for cookies and treats ordered for an election watch party. In a Facebook post published October 8, Thomas said she spent nearly a year trying to collect payment through calls and emails but never received a response or the money owed. She said the unpaid order came at a difficult time for her small, newly opened bakery during the pandemic, when "every single dollar mattered."

The story has drawn renewed attention to Marshall, a physician-turned-senator with an estimated net worth of $7.2 million, amid separate reporting on his past medical practice pursuing patients over far smaller unpaid debts. Critics have pointed to the contrast as an example of perceived double standards among wealthy officials. Marshall's office has not issued a public response to Thomas's account.