Welcome back to Saturday Night Social.
Hey. Have you ever heard of a democracy sausage?
No?
Damn. Are you in for a treat? That is, if you’re up for a hop, a skip, and a 14-hour flight to Australia for its next soonest election day, which is also the day that people across the country zhuzh up voting areas with barbecues and snacks like cookies, cake, and—yes—democracy sausages, aka hot dogs (“snags,” as the Aussies say) encased in sliced white bread with some BBQ or ketchup on top.
I’ll have 20.
The history of the democracy sausage began in 1924, when mandatory voting was first introduced to Australia, and brought about a plunge in voter turnout following World War I. Today, Australians are still required by law to vote—which hasn’t stopped them from having a good (compulsory) time.
Since 1924, the country—which votes on Saturdays instead of Tuesdays—has thus gathered in what I imagine began as 20th-century block parties, and has evolved into… modern-day block parties, complete with pastries, refreshments, and all the things that make forced community events a little less unbearable. The ante was, of course, infinitely upped after the portable barbecue—or “barbie”—was introduced in the 1980s.
Flash forward, and these election-day concessions have since expanded around one focal point: the democracy sausage, a term formally coined in the early 2010s after surging into the social-media zeitgeist. It’s become a staple at voting booths, with a group of friends in 2013 also launching democracysausage[dot]org to alert voters which polling places have what food.
Alas, not everyone (me) can stomach a 14-hour flight and a trip to Australia—so here for you is my humble pitch for this dumpster fire of a country where voter turnout is almost as bad as the fact that we’ve got politicians regularly drooling over voter suppression. Reader, I propose our own democracy sausages.
Democracy hot dogs.
It is the year of the hot dog, and we’re no plagiarists. Please? Pretty please?
Democracy rotisserie chicken!?
OK, just imagine. Showing up to the booths, motivated especially by the smell of steaming, roasting, rotating chicken? It would work so well.
Democracy lasagna.
You already know most of the people who’d be running these theoretical cookouts would come from households where at least four lasagna pans sit in their oven. Let’s give them a reason to use all at once.
Democracy pizza.
Now, this is an obvious one. I’m guessing Chicago will have some logistical issues, though…
Democracy apple pie.
Nothing so American! Let’s start baking.
