It's quiet at the counting centre in Queanbeyan. As 14 polling officials go about their work, there are a few occasional words but few smiles. There are no black suits and no ties, and a conspicuous - somewhat calming - absence of modern technology.
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“That's a two, that's a six, that's a formal,” one of the supervisors decides, as another vote passes the test.
The ballot counters - the bank tellers of democracy - methodically assess, count and flick through the green House of Representatives papers.
They do so under more immediate scrutiny than those who hand out thousands of dollars in cash, and what the serious faces are recording will - probably in the next 72 hours - decide the future political careers of two men.
Peter Hendy remains poised to join the government benches at the expense of two-term Labor MP Mike Kelly, but the Liberal candidate's lead was cut by 100 votes on Tuesday, down to 470 on a two-candidate preferred basis.
But according to one ballot counter Hendy Hener, a retired accountant, it's never personal.
“It doesn't become personal – I'm just ensuring that what people voted for is recorded,” he said.
“I believe in the Australian electoral system, I'm not here for the money - I enjoy it.”
The experienced official said he welcomed the presence of the scrutineers, the party observers who hover like hawks above the ballot counters checking for any questionable call on the validity of a vote, complete with clipboard in hand.
“I look at the scrutineers, whether I'm working here or at the [election day] booth, as another set of eyes,” he said.
Philip Wood-Bradley, 23, a recent engineering graduate, did his first day of counting on Monday and said it was a little stressful at first.
“When they object, initially you feel like you need to explain yourself, but you don't – you don't worry about the scrutineers - when the scrutineers are a little into your space you've just got to tell them to back off a little,” he said.
Pat Satie is the divisional returning officer for Eden-Monaro and has the final say if a supervisor's call is queried.
“There are some tense moments, when I was asked to make decisions on ballot papers on Monday there [was] intensity in the challenges, but no raised voices,” he said.
“I am sure it is stressful for my counters.”
Mr Satie has worked for the Australian Electoral Commission for more than 30 years, and says the guiding 'formality principal' is to allow a citizen's vote to count.
“We will err on the side of the franchise - we assume people go into the booth with the intention of casting a valid vote,” he says.
Mr Satie said by Tuesday evening 81,300 votes have been counted, with about 11,000 votes still outstanding, including more than 5000 postal votes which he hopes will begin to be counted on Wednesday.
“Traditionally postal votes go one way or the other,” he said
“There's a good chance if they go one way that we could know tomorrow [Wednesday] – but if not we could be waiting for the absentee voters from the rest of NSW, [which] could arrive on Thursday.”
