The commission has decided to have two pre-poll venues in Bathurst for the two weeks prior to the election due to the pandemic.

There are concerns over the number of people that could visit pre-poll venues, with 10,000 votes cast via pre-poll at the 2017 council election and 12,000 at the 2019 state government election.

"Based on the projected number of electors who will cast pre-poll votes, and effective implementation of COVID-safe measures, the NSW Electoral Commission has selected two pre-polling places in Bathurst," a commission spokesperson said.

The two venues will be the Bathurst Girl Guides hall, on the corner of William and Charlotte streets, and the Catholic Parish Centre.

The commission intends to use a third venue, the former Commonwealth Bank premises in Howick Street, previously pencilled in for pre-polling, for the returning officer to work at.

Councillors have slammed the decision, saying it will make it difficult for candidates to have a presence at pre-poll venues.

Cr Alex Christian is particularly frustrated. He plans to run as an independent candidate, which means he won't have the help of four other people on a ticket, or their supporters.

"It just makes things more difficult than they already are," he said.

Having a presence at pre-poll was key in Cr Christian's election.

He said first-time candidates will struggle if they have to split their time between venues, particularly if they don't have many volunteers who can support them.

"A lot of what I did last time relied on me standing at the pre-poll booth, interacting with people as they came into the polling centre. It was actually being there and being able to hand my paperwork to people; not being able to do that is going to make it very hard. You can't be in two places at once," he said.

First-time council candidate Stuart Pearson also admits it's going to be a struggle, even though he will be running a ticket.

"It'll be a struggle to man both polling booths, but I'm determined that we'll be able to manage it because we've got a great number of people who are supporters of us and a great team behind me," he said.

READ MORE: Stuart Pearson to contest the Bathurst council elections

Cr Warren Aubin, who intends to run a ticket, said it was hard enough to man a single venue for two weeks at the last election and he has serious concerns about trying to have a presence at two.

"It's just ridiculous that they expect candidates in the election to service two locations for pre-poll for a length of two weeks," he said.

"For starters, one week is enough for pre-poll, but now they expect candidates to service two pre-polling booths which are way, way apart. Two polling booths for two weeks, it's a tall order for anybody to actually do that."

Similar comments were made by mayor Bobby Bourke, who said candidates at a local level "don't have the manpower" to service multiple venues.

"It's not the right way to go, I think it's a disadvantage for all people putting their hands up for local government, especially here in Bathurst," he said.

"That's twice as many volunteers that you've got to find for pre-polling. To man them for two weeks is going to be a struggle."

He is also concerned about the cost to Bathurst Regional Council as a result of the decision.

While the elections are run by the NSW Electoral Commission, the bill for any venue hire, staff and other costs is sent to council.

The last election came at a cost of $235,524, and council has budgeted $332,100 for this year's election.

"This is a huge cost to us as a council, we've got to pay for these [venues]. The state government don't give any assistance into it, we've got to pay for the elections," Cr Bourke said.

"To have three spots in town, the returning officer's is one and the two pre-polling venues in different sections [of town], it's just a bit overboard."

He, along with councillors Aubin and Christian, and Mr Pearson, said they would prefer to see just one venue used for pre-polling

About 45 per cent of the total votes cast during the 2017 election were via pre-poll, and that number is anticipated to rise this year.

Pre-poll for the next election will be held from August 23 to September 3.

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