ACT Election 2020: One quarter of Canberra voters cast ballot early

The ACT Electoral Commission confirmed as of Sunday afternoon 56,546 people had voted, 23,760 more ballots cast over the weekend.

Canberrans have been urged to vote early this election with Elections ACT hoping to see almost three quarters of voters pre-poll.

Including the thousands of postal votes also received, an Elections ACT spokesman said about one quarter of Canberra's 300,000 registered voters had opted to get in early.

"Canberra voters have been welcoming of the COVID safety measures in place at voting venues," he said.

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"Voters are following the directions of our hard-working polling officials and maintaining good social distancing, which is very pleasing to see."

On the first day of pre-polling almost 8000 votes were cast. Friday was the biggest turnout with 11,781 voters.

Sunday was the quietest day since pre-polling stations opened last Monday, with 4511 votes cast.

This number of early votes was not seen until just a few days out from the last ACT election in 2016.

The spokesman said it was difficult to estimate how many people would vote ahead of the final week of the campaign due to the unprecedented situation presented by COVID-19.