More than one in every ten voters in the ACT have already cast a ballot in the territory election, with demand for early voting already outstripping the 2020 COVID-affected poll.
In the first three days of early voting, 35,285 people have already voted, which is just over 11 per cent of all eligible voters, and 94 per cent of ballots have been cast electronically.
Electoral Commissioner Damian Cantwell said Elections ACT was pleased to see such a high participation in early voting.
"Legislative changes now allow all ACT electors to vote at their convenience over a two-week period," Mr Cantwell said.
Early voting centres were busiest in the morning when they opened. Voter numbers were steady through the day and became quieter after 2pm.
"The first day saw 13,319 ACT electors vote across 11 early voting centres, a 65 per cent increase on 2020 figures," Mr Cantwell said.
Early voting increased dramatically in 2020, when a requirement for voters to have a reason to vote early was dropped in an effort to spread out demand to manage COVID social distancing requirements.
Just under 70 per cent of voters cast an early ballot in 2020, up from 33.4 per cent in 2016. The number of early voters has been rising each election since 1995, figures released by Elections ACT on Friday showed.
Elections ACT said it had also issued 22,902 postal votes, which it said showed demand was strong.
Early voting centres are open on weekdays from 10.30am to 6.30pm, and will be open on Saturday, October 12, between 9am and 5pm.
The centres will be open from 9am to 8pm on Friday, October 18 and from 8am to 6pm on polling day, Saturday, October 19.
"Overall early voting numbers are expected to rise, with voting centres becoming busier each day leading up to the final day on October 19," Mr Cantwell said.
"I would encourage voters to plan accordingly, noting that you don't have to cast your vote in your electorate but in any convenient voting centre."
