It's a thing in Britain on election day: #dogsatpollingstations

It’s a thing in Britain on election day: #dogsatpollingstations

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A dog awaits results at a polling station in Glasgow, Scotland. Polls opened May 7 in Britain’s closest general election for decades.

(Ian MacNicol / AFP/Getty Images)

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A dog is on standby near a poster of Deputy Leader Nigel Dodds of the Democratic Unionist Party and candidate for north Belfast, as voters leave the Seaview polling station in Northern Ireland.

(Paul Faith / AFP/Getty Images)

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A dog waits for a voter to leave a polling station in the Tithe Barn in the village of Mells in Somerset, England.

(Matt Cardy / Getty Images)

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With her vote in, a woman picks up her pooch as she leaves a polling station in Islington, north London.

(Justin Tallis / AFP/Getty Images)

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A dog waits for its owner outside the Rock Inn pub, which is being used as a polling station in Chiddingstone Hoath, near Edenbridge, southeast England.

(Ben Stansall / AFP/Getty Images)

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This dog’s ready for a walk after some time in a polling station/launderette in Headington outside Oxford.

(Leon Neal / AFP/Getty Images)

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A woman arrives with her dogs to vote at Christ Church, set up as a polling station in Epsom Common, south of London.

(Adrian Dennis / AFP/Getty Images)

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A dog stands watch at a funeral home converted into a temporary polling station in Sheffield, Britain.

(Paul Ellis / AFP/Getty Images)

By Los Angeles Times Staff

May 7, 2015 1:51 PM PT

Britain’s election might be a tussle between the country’s Conservative and Labor parties, but it also might come down to the dogs.

As voters head to the polls Thursday, the hashtag #dogsatpollingstations made the rounds on Twitter and was trending much of the day in the United Kingdom.

The election has been a hugely popular subject of conversation in Britain in recent weeks, and about 50 million of the country’s approximately 65 million people are registered to vote.

For those here in Los Angeles – where turnout in a recent municipal election was 8.6% -- maybe taking dogs to the polls would boost turnout.

Here’s a glimpse of some of the scenes outside polling stations:

UPDATES

May 7, 1:51 p.m.: This article was updated with additional tweets.

World & Nation

It’s a thing in Britain on election day: #dogsatpollingstations

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