The Australian election is on a knife-edge, but there is one concept uniting voters – the prospect of a sizzling sausage sandwich at the polling station Saturday.
With voting compulsory in Australia, schools and church halls throw open their doors for the ballot boxes on polling day – providing a willing market for those looking for a snack.
Such is the importance of the humble “snag”, in the 24 hours leading up to the polls, Twitter changed its emoji for #ausvotes from a ballot box to a sausage lying on a slice of white bread topped with sauce.
“I came for the sausage and bacon and egg,” joked Jaice Pardy, as he tucked into a fresh sandwich for breakfast at a polling station in the Sydney beach suburb of Coogee.
Elections in Australia are held on Saturdays, meaning voters generally have time to indulge in a treat after voting rather than having to rush off to work.
“Australian democracy is not complete without the aromas of the sausage sizzle,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said as he voted near his upmarket Sydney home, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Juliana Vera agreed that the sausage sizzle was part of the nation’s voting tradition.