By Mikayla van Loon
Volunteers from all sides of politics have been out rain, hail or shine at the Evelyn district’s early voting centres for pre-polling.
Liberal volunteers Max Lamb and Paul Molluso and Labor volunteers Tim Herlihy and Dylan Dent were guiding voters to the polling centre set up in the First Montrose Scout Hall on Wednesday 16 November.
Despite the rain, Tim said there had been quite a good response to early voting in Montrose.
“We’ve had a trickle [of people], it’s matching the weather. I think we had about 370 or so on Monday and around 400 yesterday (Tuesday 15 November),” he said.
“A certain percentage of people are from the Monbulk electorate although this is primarily for Evelyn, Monbulk people are coming down this side of the mountain instead of going the other way.”
While the mornings have seen people “trickling in” the volunteers agreed the rush after work has been the most popular time for voters.
“The first thing on Monday morning, we did have a bit of a queue a couple of times,” Max said.
It’s been a different story in Lilydale, with volunteers seeing around 1000 voters per day come out to have their say on who will form government.
For voters Phil and Fiona, their reasoning for voting early was all about convenience.
“It’s just easier than doing it on one particular day when it’s possibly going to be busier, it doesn’t make much sense and you don’t have to have a reason to come here now,” Phil said.
While their votes weren’t being driven by any particular issues in the community, Phil said the lines between the party’s have started to blur so much, it can be hard to decipher.
“There’s major issues but there’s issues for both sides. The minor parties, if they can influence anything, I think that’s the go but the major parties both have issues, so it’s a strange election,” he said.
“I personally don’t have confidence in either major party.”
Fellow early voter Merrin said for her as a small business owner, she has to keep that in mind when voting at this election.
“In the beauty industry, like 20,000 beauty therapists left the industry in Covid and hair and beauty now has just suffered so much,” she said.
As someone whose interest in politics sparked because of her husband, Merrin said she now has more of an understanding and she believes that is the case for many people since the pandemic.
“I never used to understand it or care…Since Covid, I think a lot more people care. I think people are more interested in what’s going on in their community and what’s going on in their state,” she said.
“At least you have to vote unlike in the States. It’s so important for young people to vote and to actually have an opinion and understand what is going on. I think a lot more people are doing that and researching and understanding it.”
Standing under a small marquee on Wednesday in the pouring rain and although on opposite sides of the political spectrum, Max said “we’re all having fun together.”
“It’s been a joint effort. The Labor Party provided [the marquee]. The Liberals provided the mulch to de-slush the mud,” Tim said.
“We’ve been running back and forth getting coffee, sharing the sausage rolls from the bakery down the road. It’s very, very convivial really. It’s been very pleasant apart from the weather.”
This election has so far seen the most early voters compared to the 2018 statistics. The first day of pre-polling on Monday 14 November saw 115,065 people vote compared to 75,612 in 2018, an increase of 52 per cent.
The second day of voting statewide saw 154,827 compared to just 82,151 last time around.
Registered candidates have also increased dramatically over the last four years, seeing 1,194 people running compared to only 887 in 2018.
It’s also the highest number of registered candidates Victoria has seen in three decades.
The Montrose and Lilydale pre-polling centres are open for early voters most days until election day on Saturday 26 November.
Find the Montrose Scout Hall at Unit 2/950 Mount Dandenong Tourist Road Montrose or the Lilydale one at 24 Main Street, (access via Cave Hill Road).
