Voters were lined well up the street after the Goulburn pre-polling station re-opened in Goulburn on Friday morning.
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The Auburn Street office has reported brisk 'trade' since it started on Saturday, March 18, ahead of the March 25 state election.
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A total 12,806 of the Goulburn electorate's 57,599 registered voters had cast a pre-poll by Friday morning, NSW Electoral Commission data showed. Some 5995 people had applied for postal votes, with 1158 returned. All up, 13,964 or 24.4pc of voters in the seat had cast an early vote.
It reflects a statewide trend. On Thursday the NSW EC said more than 883,200 people had lodged an early vote. A "record" 540,208 postal vote applications had also been received.
Meantime, major issues were weighing on people's minds as they queued.
Goulburn woman Anna Flood said cost of living and Wakefield Park raceway's future were key.
"(Wakefield) brings in so much money and it's crazy that it's been shut down. It's a very important economic driver," she said.
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Bruce and Donna Squires said they'd already decided their vote.
"Wakefield Park is a major issue and at least both parties are pledging money (and strategies) to re-open it," Mrs Squires said.
Firefighter and paramedic staffing were also factors influencing her decision.
Goulburn woman, Belinda Bryan, said she was voting Labor.
![Fire Brigade and Employees Union state secretary, Leighton Drury (second right) and professional firefighters have been campaigning at the Goulburn pre-polling station in Auburn Street. Picture by Louise Thrower. Fire Brigade and Employees Union state secretary, Leighton Drury (second right) and professional firefighters have been campaigning at the Goulburn pre-polling station in Auburn Street. Picture by Louise Thrower.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/FkT3ZusFw5YrTvZCipmLUF/f2837a3b-5cd0-4661-a2c0-f4a027ff001a.JPG/r0_0_4288_2773_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The cancer patient said she'd spent a great deal of time in Goulburn Base Hospital and was concerned about "under-staffing" in the old and new facilities. She wanted sufficient nurse numbers and more focus on education.
"I'm voting Labor because the Liberals don't seem to think the regions exist. It's time for a fresh start," she said.
Nearby, Goulburn candidate Michael Pilbrow was campaigning and people were distributing material for the other hopefuls - Wendy Tuckerman (Liberal), Andy Wood (Shooters, Fishers, Farmers), The Greens (Gregory-John Olsen) and Margaret Logan (Sustainable Australia Party).
Fire Brigade and Employees Union representatives were also campaigning for more firefighters and greater investment in infrastructure, given what state secretary, Leighton Drury, said were 500,000 new homes across NSW.
Voting booths across the electorate open at 8am Saturday and close at 6pm.
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