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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Charlotte Graham-McLay

How the democracy sausage, a polling day snack, became Australia's election symbol

Australia Election Sausage - (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Many Australians arriving at polling places on Saturday followed their civic duty by eating what’s become known as a democracy sausage, a cultural tradition as Aussie as koalas and Vegemite, and for some just as important as casting their vote.

The grilled sausage wrapped in a slice of white bread and often topped with onions and ketchup is a regular fixture of Antipodean public life. But when offered at polling places on election day, the humble treat is elevated to a democracy sausage — a national, if light-heated, symbol for electoral participation.

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