Most people lived on isolated farms, and gathering in one place to cast a vote was a special event worth celebrating. Colonial Americans, particularly the New England Puritans, felt a certain pride in controlling their own affairs. To the extent that elections then symbolized what we now call personal freedom, the chance to vote would have seemed cause for jubilation. These early voters literally feasted on tradition. The English settlers of America brought the tradition of the festival great cake with them.
Election cake is simply a version of the great cake they baked on election day.
Over the course of the 18th century, the open-air village festival waned in America. Miss Simmons's recipe calls for 30 quarts of flour and 12 pounds of raisins, among other hefty quantities, and weighs an astonishing 90 pounds. Mrs. Ledlie's cake was certainly great. In time, housewives of the early-19th century came to bake smaller, more manageable election cakes for home entertaining. A main attraction was a parade that featured a quasi-military company of gentlemen called the Foot Guard, splendidly decked out in scarlet.