By CHRISTIANE BARRO

How-to-vote volunteers and party enthusiasts assembled outside polling centers today in a last-ditch bid to grab undecided votes. 

Philip Mayne, 11, has been handing out how-to-vote cards for his dad, independent candidate and MCC councillor Stephen Mayne in the electorate of Menzies.

“I really believe in my dad. He is doing this for a good purpose. He knows there needs to be a change,” he said.

For voters, it may be all about indulging in cheap snags. But for our election hopefuls, it’s a time to ensure they have the last word before voters hit the booths and have their say.

With a significant 35 polling centers in Menzies and 33 in Chisholm, candidates were spreading their time between several polling booths throughout the day.

This is not the case for Greens candidate for Chisholm Josh Fergeus.

“It's always tricky when you don’t have a lot of money and resources,” he says.

Mr Fergeus pre-poll voted at Box Hill Town Hall and says he chose to focus his time on election day speaking with locals at one of Chisholm’s largest voting centres.

The AEC said about three million people voted early this year, a significant increase on 2013, when about 2.3 million people voted ahead of election day. 

So do voters already have their mind made up?

Ian Holowko has been voting at Templestowe Heights Primary School for the past 27 years and for the very first time was unsure who to vote for.

He says this election is multi-faceted and more complex than business-as-usual voting for Labor or Liberal.

“It's typical of our political system at the moment that it’s so divided, so complex that it’s not as simple thing (about who) you vote for. You haven’t got a clear choice.”

Liberal how-to-vote volunteer Kie Liu, 23, says voters in Chisholm are the least likely to have decided on where to cast their vote.

“I’d imagine some people don’t really make up their minds until they’re actually in the booth and that’s probably more true of Chisholm rather than Kooyong because that’s more of a swing seat.”

The winter chill did not deter candidates jostling for last-minute votes. 

First published in UniPollWatch Australia.