A record number of Australians look set to skip election day voting on July 2, with experts predicting as many as a third of voters could cast early ballots or postal votes.
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And with so many voters making early decisions, parties have had to change the way they campaign, making announcements and splashing out on advertising long before the polling day climax.
At the 2013 federal election, 26 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballot at early polling locations - more than double the number of early voters 10 years earlier.
Postal vote applications also grew by 38 per cent to more than 1.3 million, effectively doubling since 2004.
With the July 2 election falling during school holidays everywhere except South Australia, Swinburne University researcher Nathaniel Reader said 2016 could be a landmark year for early voting.
Mr Reader, an expert on early voting at Australian and US elections, said convenience and changing lifestyles were driving increases in early voting.
"More than 3 million people voted early at the last federal election and I expect to see a lot more people voting early in person," he said.
"We know from surveys and research that people are voting early because it suits their lifestyles. They've got busy weekends, travel, changing work patterns, kids' sport."
A parliamentary report on the 2013 election found changing work hours and convenience were factors in growing demand.
This year, early voting will start on Tuesday June 14. Postal ballots will be sent via new priority post measures to ensure they are received within the required period.
According to the AEC, to be eligible for early and postal ballots voters should be outside their electorate, travellers or more than 8 kilometres from a polling place on election day.
Voters who are unable to leave their workplace or are seriously ill, pregnant or caring for another person are also eligible, along with prisoners and people with certain religious beliefs.
Early voters are asked if they are eligible and postal votes include a declaration.
In 2013, Victorian and Queensland voters were most likely to vote through the post.
Mr Reader said Victoria was leading the way on early voting more broadly. A state byelection held in October 2015 saw 51 per cent of voters choosing early voting or postal votes.
"To put that in context, more people voted before election day than on election day," he said.
Some early votes are not counted until after election night. Ordinary ballot papers and pre-poll votes completed within the voter's division are counted to first preferences after the polls close.
Ballots from outside a voter's home division, provisional and postal votes are counted in the week after polling day.
"In a seat that has a high early voting rate, that can mean you won't know the result until at least the Monday," Mr Reader said.
University of Melbourne principal fellow Nicholas Reece said up to a third of Australians could vote early this year.
Mr Reece, a former staffer for Julia Gillard and ALP Victorian state secretary, said early voting had changed the way party strategists run their campaigns. Advertising and election announcements are timed for maximum impact on early voters.
"What we've seen so far is a spike in advertising in the first week of the campaign, which has dropped off significantly since," he said.
"We should expect to see that build as we get closer to election day, with a possible smaller spike around the commencement of early voting on June 14."
Mr Reece said early voters enjoyed the certainty of meeting their electoral obligations.
"Every election we see the number of people participating in pre-polling increase. It seems to be one of those things that when you do it once, you never go back."
"If the parties know one third of people are voting before polling day, it means they need to get their messages to people much earlier," he said.
