Returning officer Stuart Evennett said he could not give exact figures for the number of people who had cast a vote at the pre-polling centre on Howick Street but numbers were tracking close to expectations.

“We projected just over 4000 from Monday to Saturday in the first week and we are very close to that projection,” Mr Evennett said.

“The numbers are pretty much the same as last time – all our projections are based on previous years.”

The pre-polling centre will be open from 8.30am to 5.30pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and until 6pm on Friday.

The centre will not be open for voting on Saturday when there will be 18 polling booths open across the Bathurst region.

Mr Evennett said there had been a steady stream of voters through the centre so far and while stopping short of saying candidates had behaved well, he said they had “complied with my instructions”.

“I will also acknowledge the great co-operation of Bathurst Regional Council staff in having disability parking allocated at the front door and for marking a clear six-metre line where candidates are not allowed to hand out how-to-vote material or canvass votes inside that area,” he said.

Among the candidates on the hustings yesterday was first-time and former Dudley Hotel publican Robert “Stumpy” Taylor who is running as number two on Councillor Warren Aubin’s ticket. He said pre-polling had been an eye-opener.

“It’s new and it’s different,” he said.

“After being in the pub and feeling I was pretty well known, I can tell you there are a lot of people I don’t know.

“I’ve never done this before but it’s a necessary evil, you have to be in front of the people.

“It’s a long two weeks but it does have an influence on how you do – people like the chance to put a face to a name.”

Solo candidate Nick Packham said he had enjoyed interacting with voters.

“I think there’s an increasing number of people talking about voting below the line,” he said.

“People want to pick their own council and are quite sceptical about the flow of preferences within the groups.

“Lots of people are taking everyone’s flyers and having a read to make an informed decision and I think that’s really positive.”