Federal Election: A million voters call it early

It has become apparent that, as the election campaign enters the home stretch, more than one million voters have effectively turned their back on the entire road show by getting their vote in early.

IT HAS become apparent that, as the election campaign enters the home stretch, more than one million voters have effectively turned their back on the entire road show by getting their vote in early.

The one millionth pre-poll vote was cast sometime yesterday. About 1.15 million people had voted by close of business Tuesday afternoon.

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There are now some predictions up to five million people, or nearly one third of Australia’s 16.4 million voters, could cast their vote by May 18.

An early voting centre at Geelong in Victoria. Picture: Alan Barber

With tens of thousands of voters pouring into pre-poll voting stations every day, more than 2 million will have voted without the benefit of hearing the Coalition’s official launch this Sunday.

Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese believes the length of pre-poll voting should be reviewed, with the three week lead up perhaps a little too long.

“I think pre-poll voting is very valuable but three weeks is a very, very long time,’’ Albanese said.

A GRASSY KNOLL MYSTERY – WAS THERE A SECOND EGG?

JUST how many people were hit by eggs yesterday seems to be a mystery.

Amber Holt, 24, is alleged to have launched the projectile which rolled off the head of Caretaker Prime Minister Scott Morrison at an Albury CWA meeting yesterday morning, yet mysteriously remained intact.

And, in a statement, New South Wales Police say the egg allegedly thrown by Ms Holt actually hit another woman, though not necessarily 70-year-old Margaret Baxter who was knocked to the ground in the scuffle following the egg attack.

Serious questions remain unanswered including:

Who apart from the PM was actually struck? Was there a second egg? Why didn’t the first one crack?

We don’t want to force another Warren Commission to get our answers.

INTERNATIONAL VOTING BEGINS

YOU can vote in Brisbane and you can vote in Brunei, Brazil and Belgium. You can even vote in Myanmar. The Australian Electoral Commission informs us that overseas voting centres began accepting votes on Monday. The AEC expects to have 85 overseas voting centres in operation before May 18. “Centres are commencing voting services progressively from May 6, and they will be located at participating Australian diplomatic missions and other offices around the world,” the Electoral Commissioner, Tom Rogers, said.