Following along with the ebbs and flows of the election run-up have been The Examiner's Pub Test Panel, a group of everyday Tasmanians from different walks of life who have helped cut through the political noise to the heart of what matters to them.

But with election day so close, it still seems unclear to our panellists which party is likely to walk away the winner once all the votes are counted.

Designer Brody Page thought it was "hard to say" which - if either - of the major parties had managed to resonate with voters.

"The Liberals have been in the spotlight heaps, but in a negative way. It's hard to really determine what this means and where Australians may be placing their vote," he said.

Likewise 19-year-old medical student Gabriella Dewsbury said from her perspective it wasn't incredibly obvious which direction the election was leaning.

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"There seems to have been a swing to the left recently but I feel that it's likely to swing around again before the election," she said.

For customer service representative Craig Hislop, it became clear to him as election day approached that it was those outside the major parties that were likely to be the real winners once the votes were tallied.

"They [the major parties] have acted as if the independents and minor parties threaten their way of governing [..] so they've become a party to me. If they will hold power, we will get to see what the voice of Australia really looks like," he said.

That sentiment was also echoed by Ms Dewsbury, who noted that her vote was leaning towards Bass independent candidate Dr George Razay, who launched his last-minute run for the seat in late April, with a largely healthcare-based platform.

"I think I'm leaning more towards the 'teals' [...] I'm losing faith in a local member being able to fight for our local electorate if they are restricted by a major party," she said.

For Launceston business owner Mathew Bowen, however, the strong position independents are perceived to occupy could present its own political troubles down the track. He attributed the shift to independents to the public's dissatisfaction with the major parties.

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"I think we're going to end up with a hung parliament which isn't great. Unless there's people in there that are really going to work with whichever one can set up a government," he said.

When asked who he thought would ultimately form a federal government, Mr Bowen forecast that the Liberals would retain the seat of Bass but that Labor Leader Anthony Albanese would become the next prime minister.

As in previous elections, the five-week lead-up to May 21 brought national attention once again to the electorate of Bass, where incumbent MHR Bridget Archer is once again facing off against former Bass MP Ross Hart to win one of the most hard-fought seats in the country.

Both Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister Scott Morrison were in Bass ahead of the election being called - and have visited several times since - eager to get an edge on each other in a seat that swung with less than 500 votes in 2019.

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Subsequently, in the last five weeks millions in proposed infrastructure and planning have been promised, including funding for a new hydrogen hub in Bell Bay, plans for new urgent-care centres to aid the state's ailing health care system and upgrades to the Royal Flying Doctors headquarters.

Despite the substantial financial backing promised for these projects, however, the panellists remembered and resonated much more with moments of character, rather than the pledges themselves. For Ms Dewsbury one of the more memorable moments of the last few weeks was when Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was criticised on the veracity of his claims about Labor's tax policy history.

"When Josh Frydenberg was pulled up for lying about taxing patterns, that came as quite a surprise because I had believed him in the past," she said.

Likewise, for Mr Hislop - an LGBTQI+ advocate - it was the issues of integrity and moral fortitude that stuck with him. When speaking about the controversial trans-exclusionary sporting bill put forward by Liberal Warringah candidate Katherine Deves, Mr Hislop thought the issue had gone on long enough without any action.

"I am just shocked that we haven't put Katherine Deves in a corner by now and stopped discussing her in the news," he said.

At the end of the day, for most of our candidates it came down to the issues that matter most to them and who they thought could bring about the change they wanted to see.

Both Mr Hislop and Mr Page, who often find themselves during elections oscillating between Greens and Labor, appear to be leaning towards the former party as election day draws near.

Mr Page in particular continued to reference the environment as an election issue high in his policy priorities.

"I think many Australians are getting quite jaded with the current attitude on climate change [...] I can only hope there is possibly a better alternative that can give a bit of optimism," he said.

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This election cycle has been particularly tumultuous for Mr Bowen, a regular Liberal voter who this time around found himself dissatisfied with the party's leader.

"People are just not liking Scott Morrison," he said.

That tension has been amplified by an emerging respect for Labor leader Anthony Albanese, whose policies Mr Bowen doesn't often align with.

"I do actually quite like him, I know he's made some silly gaffes but at the end of the day, you can't remember absolutely everything," he said.

Much like the electorate at large, Mr Bowen feels pulled from two sides and appears still unsure where best to place his vote on May 21.

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