Ballot Festival
| Ballot Festival | |
|---|---|
 Food stalls near a polling station in Jameston | |
| Observed by | Carucere |
| Type | Cultural |
| Significance | Election day |
| Celebrations | Food, Processions, Music, Dancing |
| Date | Day of presidential and legislative elections |
| Frequency | Usually every 4 years, sometimes sooner |
The "Ballot Festival" is the colloquial term for the events that occur around the holiday on election day in Carucere. The event is well known for its street food, parades, and large social gatherings. Although the holiday itself was established to encourage voting, the events that occur around the day of the election have evolved into a major social and cultural event. The events originate from the voter turnout programs run by the ethnic political parties of Carucere to encourage their base to vote. Traditionally a source of political violence between ethnic parties, it has since lost the majority of its original political purpose and transformed into popular festival.
The festival has its origin in get out the vote programs run by the ethnic political parties that began in the 1950s. Due to the racially polarized politics of Carucere, swing or undecided voters found in most liberal democracies are rare. Instead elections are determined the ability of each political party to turn out their voter base using political machines and other programs. As a result turnout was extremely high; in the 1965 legislative election, electoral turnout was estimated to be at 95%. However during the 1960s, political violence and rioting between supporters of rival parties were common. During the Preval years, the modern tradition began to form after the end of political violence and additional means to encourage voting emerged. The first foods stalls to serve hungry voters on election day began to appear in large numbers in the 1986 election; while some were independent hawkers, most of them were set up by a community, cultural, or other local organization for fundraising. The events further evolved with the introduction of music, dance, and market stalls. Political parties embraced the events to further entice their voters to go out, although a ban on political campaigning lessened their support of the events.
Events are held around polling places, usually located at schools, community halls and churches, as many people arrive to vote. Although many different events are held during the Ballot Festival, street food continues to be the main attraction. Commonly served food at the festivals include pate, bake and fish, skewered meat, fried breadfruit, and mélangé. As voter turnout in Carucerean elections are routinely high, the Ballot Festival is one of the largest events held in Carucere, alongside All Days on November 1st and 2nd. For many local organizations it is the largest fundraising event of the year. Today it is one of the most important and recognizable events in Carucerean culture, and it forms a major part of the democratic experience in Carucere.