Election Day 2018 saw a widespread trend among retailers and food service chains offering various deals, discounts, and freebies to encourage civic participation. While direct compensation for voting is technically illegal under federal law, many companies structured their promotions around the act of voting without explicitly requiring proof of a cast ballot. These offers typically involved showing an "I Voted" sticker, using specific promo codes, or simply visiting a location on Election Day. The available deals spanned multiple categories, including food and beverage, transportation, and entertainment, providing voters with incentives ranging from free coffee and discounted meals to reduced-cost rides to polling places.
Food and Beverage Promotions
Numerous fast-food and casual dining establishments offered special pricing and free items on November 6, 2018. These deals were often available for a limited time and sometimes required specific actions, such as downloading an app or showing a voting sticker.
Chicken and Fast Food
Chick-fil-A was a prominent participant in Election Day promotions. According to a spokesperson, the chain offered chicken sandwiches for $2.70 to customers who could provide proof that they had voted. The specific nature of the "proof" required was not detailed in the source material. Additionally, Chick-fil-A had a separate ongoing promotion in September 2018 where users of the Chick-fil-A One mobile app could receive a free eight-count order of grilled or crispy-fried chicken nuggets. This offer was available through September 29, 2018, and appeared as a reward within the app. Existing account holders might have needed to sign out and sign back in to claim the reward.
Shake Shack provided a deal for customers showing an "I Voted" sticker or using the code "ivoted" within their mobile app. This offer granted free fries with any purchase.
Wendy’s offered a free Classic Chicken Sandwich with any purchase made in-person or through the Wendy’s app. This promotion ran from Election Day through November 9, 2018.
Potbelly offered a free cookie with an entree purchase on Election Day and the following day, Wednesday.
Jimmy John’s provided a discount code "SAVEON2" for 50% off any 8" or 16" sandwich when ordered online or in the app.
White Castle offered discounts through third-party delivery services: $4 off orders of $20 or more, or $5 off orders of $30 or more in New Jersey and New York, available via Grubhub, Uber Eats, and Postmates. It is noted that White Castle locations were closed from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Election Day to allow employees time to vote.
California Tortilla offered a free order of chips and queso with any purchase for customers who said "I voted" in-store.
Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop offered $1 off any sub for customers showing a voting sticker.
Bobo’s offered a coupon for a free vegan, gluten-free oat bar. To receive the coupon, customers were asked to share that they voted on social media by tagging @eatbobos on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and using the hashtag #GetOatTheVote. The coupon would be mailed to the participant.
Coffee and Bakeries
Krispy Kreme offered a free Original Glazed Doughnut to all guests on Election Day, along with a commemorative "I Voted" sticker, while supplies lasted.
McDonald’s offered a free pastry (such as an apple fritter, cinnamon roll, or blueberry muffin) with the purchase of a hot or iced coffee through the McDonald’s app. This promotion ran from Election Day through November 9, 2018.
Corner Bakery Cafe offered a free brewed or cold brewed coffee of any size with a purchase, provided the customer showed an "I Voted" sticker.
Baked by Melissa offered a free cupcake in-store to customers wearing an "I Voted" sticker. For online orders, the code IVOTED2018 provided a 10% discount on purchases on November 6 and 7, 2018.
Toby’s Estate Coffee (NYC chain) offered $1 small drip coffees at all five locations to customers wearing "I Voted" stickers.
Wawa launched "Free Coffee Tuesdays" starting on Election Day, continuing through the end of December for Wawa Rewards members. New members needed to register by 8 p.m. on Election Day to qualify.
Chameleon Cold-Brew offered a voucher for a free 10-ounce Chameleon Cold-Brew. To receive the voucher, customers had to post a selfie with their "I Voted" sticker on Instagram.
Ice Cream and Desserts
Baskin-Robbins offered a BOGO for 99 cents deal on ice cream cones for customers voting with friends.
Jeni’s Ice Creams offered an extra scoop of ice cream for free on Election Day.
Jeni's Ice Creams (Note: Source 1 lists "Jeni's Ice Creams" while Source 5 lists "Jeni’s Ice Creams"—likely the same entity) encouraged political discourse by providing an extra scoop free of charge.
Sit-Down Dining and Late Night
Boston Market offered a free slider after 9 p.m. for those tracking election results late at night.
Chili’s offered the Presidente Margarita for $5 and a free commemorative sticker while supplies lasted.
Biggby Coffee offered buy-one-get-one free or $1 off any drink up to 24-ounces at participating locations.
Delivery and Discounts
DoorDash offered free delivery on all orders with a $15 minimum on Election Day using the promo code VOTE. For DashPass subscribers, DoorDash provided 10% off orders with the code DPVOTE.
Grubhub offered varying discounts and promotions through specific restaurants, including Burger King and Jersey Mike’s, for qualifying purchases.
Transportation and Ride-Sharing Offers
To assist voters in getting to and from polling places, several transportation companies offered discounted or free rides.
Uber offered $10 off a single ride to the polls on Election Day with the promo code VOTE2018. In a separate 2020 promotion mentioned in the source, Uber offered up to 50% off rides (up to $7 per ride, $14 round trip) to and from polling locations using code 2020VOTE.
Lyft offered 50% off rides to most voting locations. In Source 2, Lyft offered 50% off one ride to a polling place or ballot dropbox (up to $10) on Election Day using the promo code 2020VOTE.
Lime offered free rides on its bikes and scooters to and from polling places for up to 30 minutes using the promo code LIME2VOTE18.
Zipcar offered $20 toward a future trip with an Election Day rental.
Motivate (bike share programs) offered a free day pass for most programs using the code BIKETOVOTE. Specific programs included Divvy (code VOTE18) and BIKETOWN in Portland (code BIKE2VOTE for 30 minutes of free ride time).
Public Transit
Several transit systems across the nation offered free rides on Election Day: * Los Angeles Metro (trains, buses, and bike shares) * Long Beach Transit * Baldwin Park Transit * Pasadena Transit * Santa Clarita Transit * Columbia, South Carolina's COMET bus service * Houston Metro * Greensboro Transit Authority in North Carolina
Entertainment and Retail Offers
The Rubin Museum of Art (New York) offered free admission on Wednesday, November 7, 2018, to art lovers.
Bars owned by the 1933 Group in Los Angeles offered $1 Moscow Mules or Old Fashioneds from 5 to 7 p.m. for anyone with an "I Voted" sticker.
Legal and Regulatory Context
It is important to note the legal framework surrounding Election Day offers. Federal law generally prohibits giving money or gifts to influence how a person votes. However, offering incentives to encourage the act of voting (civic engagement) is a gray area. Consequently, many retailers advertised limited-edition discounts for November 6 and left it to voters to expressly ask for them, rather than automatically providing them solely for having voted. This distinction allows companies to support voter turnout without violating laws against vote-buying.
Conclusion
Election Day 2018 featured a diverse array of freebies and discounts designed to reward civic participation. From free doughnuts and coffee to discounted rides and meals, brands across the food, transportation, and entertainment sectors engaged in these promotions. While some offers required proof of voting, such as an "I Voted" sticker, others were available simply for participating in the commercial transaction on that specific day. Consumers were advised to check with local locations regarding participation and availability, as supplies often limited these promotions.