Dogs at polling stations

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Pip at a polling station for the EU referendum in 2016

Dogs at polling stations or #dogsatpollingstations is a popular hashtag and Internet meme on social media during an election in the UK and other countries such as Australia.[1] Typically, the dogs are photographed waiting for their owners outside the polling station and the pictures then posted on services such as Instagram or Twitter.[2][3]

The hashtag became popular in the UK general elections of 2015 and 2017.[4][5]

The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held in December and thus many of the photographs had a seasonal theme such as showing the dog wearing a Santa hat. Politicians who participated included Boris Johnson, with his dog Dilyn, and Sadiq Khan with his Labrador, Luna.[6] Ed Davey posted a picture of his family's guinea pig, Carrot, as they do not have a dog. Other animals, such as horses, also made appearances.[7][8][9]

Semiotic analysis of the photographs may indicate the political alignment or voting preference of the dogs' owners.[1]

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