THE last three weeks of the federal election campaign will have no impact on the votes of more than 400 Bathurst people who have already cast their ballot.
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Early voting for the May 18 election opened in Bathurst on Monday at the old Clancy Motors site at 250 Howick Street and already there has been a steady stream of voters through the door.
Returning officer Stuart Evennett said it had been a good start.
"Things have been proceeding very well and there has been a steady flow of voters," he said.
"We expect a little bit of an upswing on the early voting numbers compared to the 2016 federal election, which is what we also saw at the state election in March."
More than 32,000 voters across the Calare electorate cast a pre-poll vote in 2016, representing more than one-third of all the votes.
But the three weeks of early voting puts great strain on the resources of all parties trying to roster volunteers to hand out how-to-vote flyers and by late yesterday only representatives from the Nationals and the Labor Party remained on the scene.
The Bathurst early voting centre will be open from 8.30am-5.30pm each day this week until Friday; 8.30am-5.30pm from Monday-Thursday next week; 8.30am-6pm on Friday, May 10; 9am-4pm on Saturday, May 11; 8.30am-5.30pm on Monday and Tuesday, May 13-14, 8.30am-6pm on Wednesday, May 15; 8.30am-8pm on Thursday, May 16; and 8.30am-6pm on Friday, May 17.
It will be open for interstate absentee voting only on polling day (Saturday, May 18).
