MONTHS of speculation, social media hashtags, ministerial announcements and visits by Sydney shock-jocks came to a sudden end on Saturday when polls opened in the Orange byelection.
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Voters at the city’s bigger booths walked through a gauntlet of party volunteers as they went to the polls.
“It’s a bit overwhelming. You walk in and get swamped by 10 people,” Thomas Woodhouse said.
It’s only the second time Mr Woodhouse has voted and he said the focus on Orange was positive as it threw the spotlight on local issues.
The issue which most influenced his vote? Council mergers.
“I don’t want an amalgamation to occur, a merger would take services away from Molong, services for my family,” he explained.
Despite being spoiled for choice - eight candidates from five parties and three independents – Orange’s Gavin Taylor said he wasn’t happy with the options on the ballot.
“There’s no positives, they don’t talk about what they have to offer, just about how others are bad (choices),” Mr Taylor said.
Christine Taylor concurred, saying the campaign had resembled a schoolyard argument.
“If you want a vote, you need to tell us how and what you’re going to do to improve the community, not about someone else’s flaws,” she said.
Neither were thrilled with the need for the byelection in the first place, brought about by former member for Orange Andrew Gee’s successful tilt at the federal seat of Calare.
“I dislike how Andrew Gee was elected and then resigned to fight another election,” Mr Taylor said.
“There should be recourse for the voter if a candidate commits to stand for the full term but doesn’t.”
Orange’s Country Labor Party branch treasurer Richard Eggleston said the morning at Orange High School had been busy.
“The busy times are from 8am to 1pm, then there’s a rush to 6pm,” Mr Eggleston said.
“Based on what we’ve seen previously you would have a lot of people take the Nationals how-to-votes and nothing else, but now it’s more of an even split between us, the Nats, Shooters Party and Scott Munro.”
The Nationals, Country Labor and Shooters, Fishers and Farmers bused 16 members of State and Federal parliaments into the electorate on Saturday.