Democracy Sausages

Even if you’re not eligible to vote in Australia, there’s enough reason to get up bright and early on a Saturday and head to the polling station: Democracy sausages.

Small stalls selling bacon-and-egg buns for breakfast or sausages later in the day are a familiar sight outside Australian polling stations. Just as the canvassing volunteers and their last-ditch attempts to convince voters with rehearsed statements like „I stand for integrity politics, “ whatever that means.

The proceeds of the sausage sales go to the institution hosting the elections, often local schools. Or so; I hope that’s where the money goes, and not towards the teacher‘s end-of-year party. Voting is compulsory in Australia, so there’s a good chance to prop up the funds for the school‘s art department.

Nobody knows precisely when the beloved tradition started. There have been sightings of election-day bake sales as early as the 1930s, although the popularity and omnipresence of democracy sausages are a recent phenomenon, amplified, of course, through social media. Today a crowd-sourced map shows where there’s a sizzle going, what they serve, and when. And the bake sales are coming back too.

The bacon-and-egg bun from Edithvale Primary School was a good, solid 4 out of 5; would vote again.