Democracy sausage

[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.

[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.

Voters can also purchase vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free alternatives as well as other food items, including cakes and drinks.

[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).