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The democracy sausage is one of the joys of election day.Credit:Paul Jeffers

Yet,I fear I am an outlier,based on early voting numbers ahead of Saturday’s election. By close of business on Tuesday,just over 4 million Australianshad already cast their vote,almost 800,000 more than at the same point in the 2022 campaign. And all without a sausage touching a barbecue.

There is apathy towards politics,no doubt,and this election campaign has been far from inspiring. But is the democracy sausage being replaced by UberEats? Is convenience now more important than the time-honoured tradition of turning out en masse on a single day with our fellow Australians and exercising our democratic right?

Yes,there needs to be flexibility for those groups who need it but early voting has gone too far. Too many people are doing it for ease rather than out of necessity. Once there was the camaraderie of turning out on election day,buying a sausage to support your local school’s P&C and carrying out your civic duty. Now,rather than embracing the day,voters are schlepping to the 500 early polling centres across the country and casting their ballot early,often before final policies are even released.

Jim Reed,the director of Resolve Strategic which conducts exclusive surveys for this masthead,summed it up perfectly when I asked him for his thoughts on this rise in early voting.

Bill Shorten’s awkward munching helped make democracy sausage word of the year in 2016.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

“The sausage sizzle has given way to Guzman y Gomez on UberEats the week before.”

Reed says there is nothing peculiar about this election. “Early voting has been rising at federal and state elections for some years,” says Reed,“so I don’t think it reflects a particular outcome. It’s more about convenience. During COVID we got used to the convenience of WFH,Deliveroo,telehealth,and voting early is convenient for a lot of people. It’ll likely rise again this time,but the blitzkrieg of votes last week was more about the[Easter and Anzac Day] holidays meaning more people at home with free time.”

Despite making it easier than ever for people to vote,turnout has been steadily decreasing since 2007 in Australia. For the first time since compulsory voting was introduced for the 1925 federal election,turnout fell below 90 per cent at the last general election.

The Australian Electoral Commission uses a (very small) stick approach towards those who fail to carry out their civic duty:a $20 fine. That fine has managed to buck inflationary pressures and the penalty has not increased since 1984. Even if it had risen in line with wages it would still only be $78,according to the Australia Institute. In comparison,the cheapest parking fine in NSW is $110.

Nonetheless,the threat of that paltry infringement notice seemed to play a role in getting Gen Zs’ to the ballot box in 2022. Research from political scientists at Griffith University asked about 1500 Gen Z Australians across the country whether they voted in 2022,and if not,why not. They found almost half of Gen Zs who voted said the main reason was not out of a sense of duty or to support a particular party. Rather,they simply wanted to avoid getting fined.

Australia is unique in its requirement that citizens must enrol and vote. Without compulsory voting,voter turnout in most nations is low – averaging just 69 per cent across OECD countries. At last year’s general election in the United Kingdom,voter turnout was estimated to have been just 60 per cent,the lowest since 2001. The UK,where voting is not compulsory,does little to entice the crowds.

For starters,polling day is a Thursday in the UK and there is no sense of occasion around casting your vote. My husband,a British-Australian,will vote in his first federal election on Saturday after finally getting around to becoming a citizen. He is convinced that if Britain tried a little harder by moving polling day to a Saturday and offering tea and fancy biscuits – perhaps even a sausage or two – there may be a little more incentive for voters to turn up. Brits love a bit of pomp and ceremony after all,and they adore their bangers.

NSW decided in 2023 that pre-polling for state polls would be restricted to just one week before election day,a sensible move that still provides ample time for weekend workers,travellers and the elderly who need help getting to the ballot box to cast their vote. The same should be done for federal elections. Meanwhile,anyone still considering jumping the gun before Saturday,I say this. Don’t be an election day killjoy.

Alexandra Smith is the state political editor ofThe Sydney Morning Herald.

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