Vienna becomes a choice: sausage stands as places of democracy!

Vienna becomes a choice: sausage stands as places of democracy!

Wien, Österreich - On April 7, 2025, an innovative project starts as part of the upcoming Vienna election 2025. This year the 11th Pass doesn't matter, at which Vienna sausage stands will serve as polling stations. The initiative is an association of Wiener sausage stands and aims to promote participation, democracy, exchange and connection. The election campaign is supported by SOS Mithensch, an association that has been committed to organizing such elections since 2013.

On April 21st and 22nd, 2025, five selected sausage stalls in Vienna turn into polling stations of the passport no matter choice. Under the motto "Because your voice doesn't care", citizens can symbolically hand over their voices inside. Over 610,000 Viennese: Inside, there are currently no right to vote for the Vienna municipal council and state elections 2025, which corresponds to more than every third person in the election age in Vienna.

sausage stands as places of participation

The traditional Viennese sausage stands are known as places of encounter and freedom of expression. Rene Kachlir, chairman of the association of sausage stands, emphasizes that these stands were for a long time meeting points for social exchange. Together with Patrick Tondl, the association's vice chairman, he emphasizes that the campaign aims to make inclusion visible and to create a space for political participation.

The polling stations are equipped with voting boards and offer a selection of sausage creations, cold drinks and election cards. The collected voices are counted as part of the passport, no matter election. Prominent supporters: inside of the initiative, including Jugo ürdens, Fiio, Manuel Rubey and Simon Schwarz, actively campaign for this goal and contribute to the visibility of the campaign.

insight into the meaning of participation

Political participation denotes the active participation of citizens in political affairs, which not only encompasses elections, but also speaking, political advisory councils, demonstrations and citizens' initiatives. Historically, political participation in Europe was often reserved for a privileged part of the population. In Germany, for example, the general active and passive right to vote for women was introduced in 1918, and by 2019, various groups of people were excluded from their right to vote.

Participation is a central term in social law, especially in the Social Code IX and in the federal government law. The term is viewed from a sociological perspective in order to analyze social belonging and inequality. Experts like Peter Bartelheimer call specific requirements in participation and emphasize the importance of democratic decision -making processes in order to overcome illegitimate exclusions. The initiative at the sausage stalls contributes to this discourse and promotes social participation.

The press representatives: Inside, are invited to accompany the action on site and to emphasize the importance of this innovative election campaign. This step could serve as a model for future initiatives that are committed to the political participation of all citizens.