VOTERS EMBRACE PRE-POLLING

LOCAL voters are continuing to cast their ballots ahead of Saturday’s federal election, with queues strong at pre-polling stations.

Almost three times as many voters have cast their vote before this election in Corangamite than in 2019.

Australian Electoral Commission data shows that, as of Saturday, 22,591 votes had been cast at pre-polling booths in the Corangamite and Corio electorates.

Of those, 12,288 had been cast in Corio and 10,303 in Corangamite.

At the 2019 election, only 3600 early votes were cast in Corangamite.

A further 21,632 applications for postal votes have been made in the Corangamite electorate, with 9844 votes returned as of Sunday.

In Corio, 18,347 applications for postal votes have been made, with 9409 returned.

Voters reported queues of up to 30 minutes at a Clifton Springs booth on Monday.

Pictures: Alison Wynd People queue to vote at Geelong West Town Hall.