More than 45,000 Tasmanians have already cast their vote ahead of Saturday's state election.
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The Tasmanian Electoral Commission is predicting pre-poll voting could go as high as 60,000 by 6pm Friday, completely dwarfing the 36,426 pre-poll votes cast in 2018.
Commissioner Andrew Hawkey said while it was good to see Tasmanians participating in the democratic process, the late explosion was likely to have an impact on what pre-poll votes can be counted on the night.
"Along with a postal vote count for every division, if we end up with around 60,000 pre-poll votes cast, I expect returning officers will count the ballot papers at the main pre-poll centres on the night and then count the ballot papers from the smaller regional centres, along with the mobile polling votes on the Sunday."
End of Wednesday figures:
- Bass: 9337
- Braddon: 10,878
- Clark: 8254
- Franklin: 8433
- Lyons: 8676
- Total: 45,578
Ahead of Saturday's state election, The Examiner spoke to voters on the ground at Launceston's pre-poll centre to find out what's swayed their vote this time around.
An honest approach
For Catherine Anne Pryor, of Launceston, health, education and housing were among the key issues that influenced her vote.
However, she said the environment had always been very important to her, which is why she voted for the Greens.
And, it's a decision she said she made early on in the campaign.
"I just really wish that politicians could sit down and honestly say 'we have this much money, this what our choices are'," she said.
"To just be really honest, so people actually knew what they do.
"Instead we have of all the hype. Just tell us how much is in the budget and what are you actually able to do."
Safety first
Gavin Brahim, of Newstead, spent most of the past year in Western Australia.
However, he still managed to get his vote in early on Thursday.
A fly in, fly out worker, Mr Brahim said he was looking for a government that would keep its community safe.
"I've been out of the state, in WA because of COVID. Since it started last year, this is only my second trip home this year," he said.
"I am just looking for a party that will keep us safe from COVID. That's the main thing, along with trying to create more jobs.
"To make good and firm decisions. We need integrity in leadership."
Stability moving forward
For Mary Farr, of Launceston, the number one factor that helped determine her vote was the need for stability.
"I am old enough to appreciate that there is always a big upheaval when we have a changeover," she said.
"Sometimes that can last long enough for lots of things to be disrupted.
"In that respect, I think just having things stay the same is worth it."
Two sides of same coin
Darren Hughes, of Invermay, said he spends a fair bit of time reading about each candidate.
Then, he assesses whether they represent the issues that impact him.
However, he said 2020 had changed his mind on a number of things.
"For me, between COVID and employment - that's been the biggest issue," he said.
"My business went from this to that ... I found myself needing to seek government assistance and that sort of thing."
As for what swayed his vote, Mr Hughes said the environment was always a hot topic.
"That's an issue, as a Tasmanian, that I will always be concerned about - the environment," he said.
"So the Tarkine, the south-west corner and everything else.
"But looking at the political component, Liberal and Labor are pretty much the same thing these days.
"They are not as bipartisan as they used to be.
"They tend to be two sides of the same coin."
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