"Democracy sausages" are the sausages wrapped in a slice of bread, bought from a sausage sizzle operated as a fundraiser at Australian polling places on election day, often in aid of the institutions that house the polling place. In 2016, just under one-third of the 1,992 polling booths across Australia had a sausage stand by the count of the Election Sausage Sizzles website. [1]
CNN quoted historian Judith Brett, author of From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage: How Australia Got Compulsory Voting as saying "Certainly, there's a photo in the 1930s of a polling booth with a cake stall outside, so I think community organizations saw it was an opportunity to fund-raise." Brett is further quoted as saying that sausages started appearing in the early 1980s when portable barbecue grills became available. The first use of the phrase "democracy sausage" on social media was in the lead-up to the 2013 Western Australian state election, but the phrase was probably in spoken use before [2]
The democracy sausage has become so well recognised in Australian culture, that in the 24 hours leading up to the 2 July 2016 federal election Twitter changed its emoji for #ausvotes from a ballot box to a sausage lying on a slice of white bread topped with sauce. [3] In December 2016 the Australian National Dictionary Centre selected "democracy sausage" as its Australian Word of the Year for 2016. [4]
As Australians always vote on a Saturday and voting is compulsory, there is always high voter turnout for both state and federal elections. [3] Many polling places are located at schools, community halls and churches, [1] with these groups often taking advantage of the large number of people coming to their location by setting up fundraising stalls. [5] [6] For many community groups this is the biggest fundraising event of the year. [3]
Variations on the standard sausage in bread are also available at some election day stalls. Voters can also purchase vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free alternatives as well as other food items, including cakes and drinks. [1] [7] [8] [9] [10] Various websites and social media accounts have been set up to help the public locate which polling booths have stalls and what will be available at them, so that they can choose a polling location according to their food choices. [5] [11] At the 2 July 2016 federal election, one such site recorded 2301 polling booths as having sausages and/or cakes available, [12] and another recorded 2094, [13] each of which is over one-third of the total number. [1] [5]
Some cake stalls sell themed sweets which are named as a play on politicians' names such as Alba-Cheesy Cakes (Anthony Albanese); Malcolm Turnovers and Malcolm Turnballs (Malcolm Turnbull); Plebislice (referring to a plebiscite); Jacqui Lambingtons (Jacqui Lambie); Tanya Plibiscuits (Tanya Plibersek); and Richard Di Nutella Fudge (Richard Di Natale). [14]
Australian cuisine is the food and cooking practices of Australia and its inhabitants. Australia has absorbed culinary contributions and adaptations from various cultures around the world, including British, European, Asian and Middle Eastern.
A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders.
A sandwich is a dish typically consisting of meat, cheese or vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed on a slice of bread, or more generally any dish in which bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a portable, convenient finger food in the Western world, though over time it has become prevalent worldwide.
The electoral system of Australia comprises the laws and processes used for the election of members of the Australian Parliament and is governed primarily by the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. The system presently has a number of distinctive features including compulsory enrolment; compulsory voting; majority-preferential instant-runoff voting in single-member seats to elect the lower house, the House of Representatives; and the use of the single transferable vote proportional representation system to elect the upper house, the Senate.
Compulsory voting, also called universal civic duty voting or mandatory voting, is the requirement that registered voters participate in an election. As of January 2023, 21 countries have compulsory voting laws. Law enforcement in those countries varies considerably and the penalty for not casting a ballot without a proper justification ranges from severe to non-existent.
Danish cuisine originated from the peasant population's own local produce and was enhanced by cooking techniques developed in the late 19th century and the wider availability of goods during and after the Industrial Revolution. Open sandwiches, known as smørrebrød, which in their basic form are the usual fare for lunch, can be considered a national speciality when prepared and garnished with a variety of ingredients. Hot meals are typically prepared with meat or fish. Substantial meat and fish dishes includes flæskesteg and kogt torsk with mustard sauce and trimmings. Ground meats became widespread during the industrial revolution and traditional dishes that are still popular include frikadeller, karbonader and medisterpølse. Denmark is known for its Carlsberg and Tuborg beers and for its akvavit and bitters, but amongst the Danes themselves imported wine has gained steadily in popularity since the 1960s.
Austrian cuisine consists of many different local or regional cuisines. In addition to Viennese cuisine, which is predominantly based on the cooking traditions of the Habsburg Empire, there are independent regional traditions in all the states of Austria.
A polling place is where voters cast their ballots in elections. The phrase polling station is also used in American English and British English, although a polling place is the building and polling station is the specific room where voters cast their votes. A polling place can contain one or more polling stations. In Australian English, "polling place" is used. Americans also use the term voting precinct in some states.
Elections in Australia take place periodically to elect the legislature of the Commonwealth of Australia, as well as for each Australian state and territory and for local government councils. Elections in all jurisdictions follow similar principles, although there are minor variations between them. The elections for the Australian Parliament are held under the federal electoral system, which is uniform throughout the country, and the elections for state and territory Parliaments are held under the electoral system of each state and territory. An election day is always a Saturday, but early voting is allowed in the lead-up to it.
A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a wheat-based food additive.
Czech cuisine has both influenced and been influenced by the cuisines of surrounding countries and nations. Many of the cakes and pastries that are popular in Central Europe originated within the Czech lands. Contemporary Czech cuisine is more meat-based than in previous periods; the current abundance of farmable meat has enriched its presence in regional cuisine. Traditionally, meat has been reserved for once-weekly consumption, typically on weekends.
A sausage sandwich is a sandwich containing cooked sausage. It may consist of an oblong bread roll such as a baguette or ciabatta roll, and sliced or whole links of sausage, such as hot or sweet Italian sausage, Polish sausage, German sausage, North African merguez, andouille or chorizo. Popular toppings include mustard, brown sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, steak sauce, peppers, onions, sauerkraut, chili, and salsa.
A cheese roll is a New Zealand snack food similar to Welsh rarebit, but created by covering a slice of bread in a prepared filling consisting mainly of grated or sliced cheese, and then rolling it into a tube shape before toasting. Cheese rolls are a very popular food in Otago and Southland Region, where they are commonly found as a menu item at cafeterias and similar food outlets, and uncommonly referred to as southern sushi. They are one of a small number of recipes which are specific to only one of New Zealand's two main islands.
Bologna sausage, informally baloney, is a sausage derived from the Italian mortadella, a similar-looking, finely ground pork sausage, named after the city of Bologna. Typical seasonings for bologna include black pepper, nutmeg, allspice, celery seed and coriander, and, like mortadella, myrtle berries give it its distinctive flavor.
Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections are always held on a weekday. However, some countries, or regions within a country, which hold elections on a weekday declare election day a public holiday. Countries which permit absentee ballots, early ballots or postal votes to be cast by mail before the election avoid the problem altogether by enabling voters to vote on a day that is more convenient to them.
Regional street food is street food that has commonalities within a region or culture.
A sausage sizzle is a community event in Australia and New Zealand to cook and serve sausages in bread which are grilled or barbecued sausages served in sliced bread or a bun with grilled onions and various condiments, most commonly tomato sauce, barbecue sauce or mustard. The term "sausage sizzle" came into common use in the 1980s and is used primarily to refer to the barbecuing event, but also to the sausage itself, mostly in Western Australia.