The interstate polling booth in Sydney’s inner east momentarily had the atmosphere of an emergency room waiting for a donor organ to arrive.
They had run out of ballot papers for Victorian voters – and somewhere, racing through the streets of Potts Point, was a car with a fresh box of papers.
An Australian Electoral Commission official was on the phone: “Where are you? Ten minutes? Five? OK.”
The room, heating up too high, was swelling with sweating Victorians unable to cast a vote. Staff begged us to stay: “They won’t be long!” It was important we wait – after all, democracy was at stake.
These absentee polling places bear little resemblance to the cheerful democracy sausage booths that put on vegan burgers and halloumi rolls, that sell cakes and homemade lemonade. Instead, it was like being held in an unpleasant, hostile immigration office at Dallas airport, or a grim waiting room in a consulate.
It’s much more fun to vote where you live – with election day in Australia evolving into a combination of school fete and a food festival.
Election day is the one occasion where you really get to eyeball your neighbours – where everyone including the homebodies and recluses – venture out. And it’s the one day where you can categorically say that everyone in this country is suddenly, instantly equalised. No one vote is worth more than anyone else’s – and that powerful feeling of equality somehow permeates the day.
And if you don’t want to talk about politics, you can always talk about the snacks. As long as they have them, that is.
Granville public school, in Sydney’s western suburbs, was all business, no food. Just after 9am at the polling booth in the seat of Parramatta, Sala Takiveikata was handing out for the Liberal candidate, Maria Kovacic, who she met at a “women in business” conference.
“I’m a small business owner and I want to support people that supported small business in the pandemic.” Takiveikata moved to Australia from Fiji in 2010 and this is her first time helping out on an election campaign. “I love being able to help and contribute,” she said.
It was also the first time helping out on an election campaign for Deruk Wong, who was campaigning for the Labor candidate, Andrew Charlton.
Wong arrived in Australia 11 years ago from China and “it’s my first time as a volunteer – I want to help Mandarin people know how Labor can help them. So many people when they first arrive have never voted in an election and need to be educated about the parties here,” said Wong.
Although Charlton was at the primary school greeting voters, sadly there were no sausages.
Not so in Homebush, where the Homebush public school had multiple burners firing to cook halal, vegan and meat products.
Homebush public school sausages !! Halal!!! @patrickkeneally pic.twitter.com/Oi6ZYg6D6O
— Brigid Delaney (@BrigidWD) May 21, 2022
Kristi Helou, the head of the school’s P&C, said there was a strong community spirit on voting day. “A lot of the people whose kids are at the school come to vote. Earlier today we had the principal and deputy principal come in to cast their votes, and the teachers come in.”
Staffing the barbecue were parents of Lebanese, Korean, Chinese and Indian heritage. “But we don’t talk politics,” said Helou. “Our priority is our kids and raising money for our school.”
Outside Homebush primary school, the former NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay was handing out for Sally Sitou. “It’s a really diverse electorate, the most multicultural in the state, but people here care about the same things – aged care, childcare, Medicare, climate change.”
She was feeling positive about Labor’s chances. “It’s a must-win seat for us, but it’s looking like it’s going in the right direction. Sally is attracting a lot of younger voters.”
Further into the inner west and the booths took on more of a Portlandia vibe. In Albanese’s electorate of Grayndler, at a cake stall, the snacks were ironic, labelled with knowingly bad puns: Canberra Bubble Krispies, Tanya Pil-Biscuits, Hawaiian Holiday cupcakes, Engadine Macca-Roons, Marise Pain Au Chocolat.
One Josh Fried N Burg please !! Great menu at Camdenville polling booth ! @patrickkeneally @ninobucci pic.twitter.com/Gfr8qYw1ko
— Brigid Delaney (@BrigidWD) May 21, 2022
Election Day Camdenville cake stall. Know what I won’t be ordering ! @patrickkeneally @ninobucci pic.twitter.com/FGo3Qt91YU
— Brigid Delaney (@BrigidWD) May 21, 2022
But by 1pm there was a democracy sausage emergency – they were running out of halloumi, onions and sausages. “Don’t put on Twitter that. People should come here,” urged one volunteer.
In the long queue itself, very few people had taken flyers. Why is that? I asked some Newtown locals lining up. They laughed. “It’s obvious who’s going to win here,” said James. Albanese’s face was everywhere. There was not a Liberal volunteer to be seen.
While the snacks in Grayndler were priced at around $3 and at Homebush they had given me a sausage for free because I had no money, it was a different story in Australia’s wealthiest electorate – Wentworth.
At the Double Bay primary school polling booth, for $150 you could buy a cake that was dripping with unappetising looking red and blue icing (really, it should have been teal).
Hello Wentworth ! Big money cake stall in double bay @patrickkeneally pic.twitter.com/kTJAhlsIS3
— Brigid Delaney (@BrigidWD) May 21, 2022
Buying two scones, the small child taking my card insisted that they were $5 each, despite a volunteer saying they were $3.50. She wouldn’t budge. The volunteer shrugged. I paid the child $10. It may be a day for democracy, but capitalism never sleeps.
