PRE-poll volunteers were far busier than expected this election campaign, with 41,500 people voting before Saturday across the Calare electorate.
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Of those 13,000 voted at the Orange pre-polling centre in Moulder Street during the three-week period.
Divisional returning officer Sandra Taylor said it was "over everything we were expecting".
"It's been revised, but the prediction originally was 34,000 for the division," she said.
The high voter turnout meant keeping pre-polling booths staffed was crucial.
It was Shooters, Fishers and Farmers volunteer Andrew Barbagallo's third election and he said the party's friendliness attracted him.
"To talk with people and have a smile and a giggle, that's what life is all about," he said.
The Greens' James Moreland said it was his first election.
"A lot of Australians are really uninterested in politics and I wanted to help them vote," he said.
Labor's Joel Everett saw the lighter side of party politics, saying it was better than a Wiggles concert.
"We're already dressed," he said.
The Nationals' Orange branch deputy chairman, Gordon Eggins, said volunteers' roles were particularly important for the undecided voters.
"So many people aren't sure when they get here and I think it's a bit of a helping hand for them," he said.
The Australian Conservatives' Garry McMahon was also volunteering for his second campaign after contesting the March state election.
"People are a bit challenged having two elections so close and two different voting systems," he said.
Heather Bocxe from the Christian Democratic Party said her strong Christian faith led her to volunteer, particularly on the issues of abortion and euthanasia.
The volunteers said the trick to staying on their feet for hours was to move around, but they were also helped along by one of the volunteers' daughters, Alice Barnard, who had been handing out biscuits daily.
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