THE smell of barbecue wafted through the open air as people lined up at Pleasant Street Primary School to cast their vote for the Federal election.<\/p>\n
After Labor Member for Ballarat, Catherine King, arrived to cast in her ballot, she said the day showcased \u201cdemocracy in action.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s really lovely. I think people are very cheerful and when the sun\u2019s out like this and it\u2019s a beautiful Ballarat day I think people are proud to come out and cast their vote,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s lots of people out and about early. It\u2019s a beautiful sunny day and let\u2019s hope for an Albanese Labor Government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helen Romeril, assistant principal at Pleasant Street Primary, handed out democracy sausages alongside a wood raffle in support of the school, and said the polls provided a great place for locals to have a chat.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of our school families have been coming in and a lot of the others seem to know each other so there\u2019s a real community-centric vibe to today,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got Catherine King here and Ben Green as well so quite a few of the candidates here which has been good. It\u2019s been a great turnout overall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dallas Gangur arrived to vote early and said the turnout ran smoother than he\u2019d anticipated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was all quick and easy to do. Everyone explained everything really well and I felt I was able to actually make an informed vote,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe food helps, and kids are able to just hang around and play while the older people get onto their voting. It\u2019s a nice, chill atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE smell of barbecue wafted through the open air as people lined up at Pleasant Street Primary School to cast their vote for the Federal election. After Labor Member for Ballarat, Catherine King, arrived to cast in her ballot, she said the day showcased \u201cdemocracy in action.\u201d \u201cI think it\u2019s really lovely. I think people […]<\/p>\n