It was bingo-galore at midday on Friday.
Hundreds of little balls were put in barrels across the country and swirled around in a surprisingly old-fashioned process – that might have some influence on who becomes the next Prime Minister.
The Australian Electoral Commission’s draw to determine the order of names candidates will appear on ballot papers for voting has now taken place.
The most coveted spot for each ballot paper for the house of representatives is number one because it’s the first name voters see.
“We essentially put balls into a barrel and we draw them out in sequence,” national election manager Kath Gleeson said in a video explaining the process.
“We undertake one draw to assign a number to each candidate and then we draw out the numbers again to determine which candidate is placed in which order.”
The person choosing the numbers wears a blindfold to make sure it is fair.
Luck was on the side of independent climate candidate Monique Ryan who got the top spot in the Melbourne seat of Kooyong, where she’s challenging Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.
He was much lower down, taking number seven out of a possible 11 spots.
Meanwhile in the affluent electorate of Wentworth, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, Liberal incumbent Dave Sharma took out the last spot.
But in a situation that might cause a bit of confusion, Liberal Democrat candidate Daniel Lewkovitz will be placed just above him at number six.
The Liberal Democrats are being forced to change their similar name after losing a bid to overturn new electoral laws in the High Court.
Those laws allow an established party to challenge a newer one over the use of same words in its name – this one being Liberal.
But Mr Lewkovitz said this would not happen before this election – which he wasn’t sure was a good thing.
“The Liberal Party were convinced that voter confusion meant we were benefitting from their name.. but I’m finding the name Liberal has a stench attached to it and there are people looking for a genuine third alternative to the major parties,” he said.
High-profile independent Allegra Spender – who is the daughter of late fashion designer Carla Zampatti – will be placed number five on the ballot.
Labor will have the number one spot, giving candidate Tim Murray a much-needed advantage considering the party has never held the traditionally Liberal blue-ribbon seat.
In the electorate of Warringah, once held by former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, controversial Liberal candidate Katherine Deves took out number five out of a possible seven spots.
That means she’ll be placed lower down than independent Zali Steggall who secured number two in the draw.
Meanwhile in the Hunter, where Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon is retiring, the party’s new candidate Daniel Peter Repacholi also took out number two.
His main competition, Nationals candidate James Thomson, was much lower down at number seven.
And in Eden Monaro, Labor incumbent Kristy McBain had the advantage at number three, while last-minute Liberal captain’s pick Jerry Nockles got number six.
After each draw, the AEC immediately starts the process of printing ballot papers.
Once the ballot papers are printed, voters who will be away on election day are able to begin voting in the election by casting an early vote.
