The writs have been issued, the stage has been set: Australians are about to go to an election. You can almost smell the sausages sizzling at local primary schools and scout halls, and it’s only a matter of time until the how-to-vote cards start to make their way into our hands and letterboxes.

When we talk about the fundamental elements of representative democracy, we tend to defer to grand themes such as accessibility, representation, prevention against corruption, and equality. But democracy in Australia (and in other parts of the world) is as much about where we vote, when we vote and how long we have to vote as those more lofty concepts.

And what about that humble sausage in bread?

William Isdale speaks with professor Graeme Orr about the festival of elections, the heritage of voting in Australia and what might be lost in the culture of our democracy if we are all able to vote securely from our mobile phones at some stage in the near future.

Orr’s book, Ritual and Rhythm in Electoral Systems, is out now.

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Additional Audio:

• Channel Ten, Election 2013 | Sausage steals the sizzle

• Channel Ten, Election Day 2013 | Labor concedes defeat | Part 1

• Channel Ten, Election Day 2013 | A new Prime Minister

• SBS, Leaders vote on election day 2013

• SBS, World News - Election Day 2010

• Film Australia - Australian Biography Series, Neville Bonner - Change

• Channel Nine, Paul Keating’s 1993 Election Victory Speech

• ABC, Australia Votes 2013

Music:

• Free Music Archive - The Degs, “Here they come”

• Free Music Archive - Dave Depper, “Swagger 2”

• Free Music Archive - Circus Marcus, “La tapa del dominigo”

• Free Music Archive - Circus Marcus, “La tapa del sábado”

• Free Music Archive - Kai Engel, “February”

• Free Music Archive - Kevin MacLeod, “Master of the feast’

• Free Music Archive - Blue Dot Sessions, "Micro”

• Free Music Archive - Blue Dot Sessions, “Bouncing”

• Free Music Archive - Psychadelik Pedestrian, “Pacific”

• Free Music Archive, Dave Depper, “Wholesome 7”

William Isdale does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.