Baltimore businesses give voters a sweet incentive to head to the polls

Following a contentious election season, some Maryland businesses offered voters a sweet incentive to make a trip to the polls Tuesday.

Baltimore-based ice cream shop Taharka Brothers offered a free cone to customers who showed up with an "I Voted" sticker, regardless of who they voted for.

"At the end of a strong election season, we figured it was best to spread some joy with some ice cream," said Craig Turner, director of retail at Taharka Brothers.

Customer Hunter Brown said the incentives were a nice way to bring a little fun to Election Day.

"It's nice that businesses are doing incentives like this since not everybody goes out to vote because they care about issues. A lot of people want to get something out of it," Brown said.

A similar offer drew crowds to Hon Style Sweets in Pasadena, where voters could claim a free bag of truffles.

"It's been busy. It's been like five times what it would normally be on a Tuesday. It's been wonderful," said owners Diane and Shannon Speakman.

The owners said the gesture was small but could have a meaningful impact by encouraging people to participate in elections.

"I think a lot of times our electorate forgets that midterm elections are important. They're more important for us at a local level than they are a presidential election," the Speakmans said.

For both businesses, the offers were about bringing people together, regardless of their political views.

"Our biggest thing is making sure we're creating impact, and whatever that may be, we're going to do that but make sure it's sweet," Turner said.