The "donkey vote" appeared to become a reality in Canberra on Friday when the Animal Justice Party won first place on the ballot paper for the ACT Senate race.
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The party will have the benefit of garnering the support of voters who choose the first party listed simply by its placement.
The draw for positions on the ballot paper was done in the stately Senate chamber in Old Parliament House.
Australian Electoral Commission official Kevin Kitson put on a blindfold to draw numbered balls.
''It was a slightly strange experience, a disembodied experience, but really rather good to be part of the democratic process," he said later.
''This [chamber] is one of the finest places in Canberra and there is a real sense of history and heritage.''
Mr Kitson's random pick put the Greens in third spot, where the party may benefit from the preferences of minor parties.
The Liberal and Labor parties were relegated to the tail end of the 13-position ticket.
While not a good look for the major parties, the placement on the ballot makes little difference to the outcome.
Labor's Kate Lundy is assured of re-election, while the Greens are challenging for the second spot, which has traditionally been held by the Liberals.
Senator Lundy and Liberal lead candidate Zed Seselja did not attend the event, which was watched by members of the public and party volunteers.
Greens Senate candidate Simon Sheikh said his ballot paper position could deliver his party a 2 per cent boost in votes.
''The Greens have secured a great position on the ballot paper. Third from the left is a great position and makes it easy for Greens voters to find us on the ballot paper,'' he said.
''This is particularly important at this election because we've met many people who are voting Greens for the first time in this election and of course we want to make it as easy as possible.
''Being on the left-hand side of the ballot paper obviously gives people an opportunity to secure that [donkey] vote.
''We don't want to win on the back of the donkey vote. We want to win on the back of Canberra voters who want to stop Tony Abbott's job cuts.''
The founder of Exit International, Philip Nitschke, is standing for the Senate in the ACT for the Voluntary Euthanasia Party. He said the party would make a decision on Saturday on its allocation of preferences.
■ Electoral Commissioner Ed Killesteyn said 14,712,799 people were enrolled to vote in the election.
The electoral roll has increased by more than 624,000 since the last election, significantly more than the previous comparable period from 2007 to 2010 when the increase was just over 440,000.
In the ACT, 265,269 people are enrolled to vote.