By-election day arrives, but the crowds don't

Gone are the democracy sausages and cake stalls, and any smiling faces are hidden behind the compulsory facemasks.

And another impact of COVID-19 has been the push for many more pre-poll and postal votes being lodged rather than hordes queuing on election day.

On Saturday, February 12, party faithful and their how-to-vote handouts at Bega High reported a steady flow of voters through the day, but "we're not being overwhelmed".

Samuel More was in his Liberal Party blue and had travelled to Bega with some friends to help candidate Fiona Kotvojs' cause.

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He said the morning had been steady - "busier than I expected" - but the drizzly conditions at lunch had seen the numbers drop.

Bruce Hartican in his Labor Party red said much the same as he offered how-to-votes for candidate Michael Holland.

Samuel said his chats with voters were about what the Liberals stood for.

"And a lot of it has been around Andrew Constance and the work he did," he added.

Mr Constance resigned from his Bega seat for a tilt at federal politics in the next election on the calendar, expected in May.

Bruce said there was a noticeable trend of voters already sure of which box they were marking with a '1'.

"We've noticed a trend of a lot of nurses in scrubs arriving pretty sure of where there vote will go," he said.

"One nurse in her scrubs said she was coming here to vote during a break on a double shift - her fourth this month."

Polling booths close at 6pm. If the count is close, which is expected in the Bega electorate, results will likely not be known tonight.