10PM:

Daryl Maguire has claimed victory for the seat of Wagga.

Brodie Owen has the full story here.

9PM:

Liberal supporters at Wagga campaign office are celebrating victory.

However, a cautious Daryl Maguire is yet to formally announce victory and says he is waiting for the Wagga and Lockhart pre-polls to be counted.

8.30PM:

New booths are in and Daryl Maguire has now claimed more than 60 per cent of the vote on first preference.

On two-party preferred Mr Maguire holds 72 per cent of the vote. 

Fairfax Media predicts a Liberal retain.

- By Brodie Owen

8PM:

Independent Paul Funnell has claimed about 12 per cent of the vote so far – trailing Labor’s Dan Hayes on 21 per cent.

Kevin Poynter (Greens) is sitting on less than four per cent. 

Daryl Maguire says he is still waiting on a number of big booths to be counted before declaring victory.

- By Brodie Owen

7.30PM:

With less than 5 per cent of the vote counted, Liberal Daryl Maguire is well ahead in the race for Wagga.

Mr Maguire has tallied more than 1000 votes ahead of Labor’s Dan Hayes.

Mr Maguire is polling strongly in the North Wagga, Mangoplah, The Rock and Collingullie. 

However, the majority of booths have not commenced counting.

- By Brodie Owen

7.00PM: After voters were forced to wait to cast their vote earlier in Junee, a complaint is expected to be lodged to the NSW Electoral Commission.

Full story here.

5.55PM: Member for Wagga Daryl Maguire says he is confident the state will see the Baird Government retained.

Mr Maguire had a busy day touring the electorate with the day kicking of at 7.10am in Batlow.

Mr Maguire said the day had been calm at the polling booths with most voters sure of what they wanted and happy to engage in social banter.

He praised volunteers as the “lifeblood of the Liberal party” saying 400 Liberal supporters had volunteered in his electorate alone.

He said he expected the government would see a swing towards Labor but was not concerned.

“We came in on such a large swing that that is expected.” 

5.40PM: Nick Driver has worked at the past four state elections supporting member for Wagga Daryl Maguire.

While politicians are the face of the election, volunteers put in the hard yards supporting them. Full Story

5.20PM: Independent candidate for the seat of Murray Helen Dalton hopes she has done enough to make the seat marginal.  Full story.

5:05PM: Cootamundra candidate Katrina Hodgkinson has continued her tour of the electorate seeking to break her own record for the number of polling stations visited on one day.

She had one last pitch to voters during her stop over in Junee this afternoon.

4.50PM: Former Nationals Party member Ron Pike says he will “fix the water mess” if elected in the Legislative Council today. He has the support of a number of Griffith residents on the Group V ticket.

He spoke at last week’s Murray-Darling Basin Scam forum about his goal to abandon the Plan.

Here’s a short video from his speech.

4.20PM: Member for Murrumbidgee Adrian Piccoli says he is feeling confident about the outcome in today’s election in the seat of Murray. Full story.

4.15PM:

With less than two hours until the polls close, Independent for Wagga Paul Funnell said voters need to think about “proper representation” as they cast their vote.

Meanwhile, a Labor source has told the Advertiser the removal of the “Gillard factor” has boosted their local political fortunes this election.

- By ​Brodie Owen

4PM: No polling booth would be complete without the committed volunteers greeting you with how-to-vote cards.

Here in Cootamundra all the regulars seem to know each other and get along well, proving mutual boredom can overcome almost any political barrier.

This morning we spoke to Peter McClintock, Cootamundra National Branch chairman and long-time volunteer, about what makes him so passionate.

In the interest of fairness, we now bring you Country Labor volunteer John Millington.

Sadly the Shooters and Fishers volunteers have been a little more camera shy, which is perhaps understandable given the (unfair) bad name recreational shooters have here in Australia.

Both candidates and volunteers for The Greens and the No Land Tax parties seem hard to come by!

3:45PM: Katrina Hodgkinson has been on the road all day in an attempt to beat her own 2011 personal best of 26 polling booths visited on election day.

The latest update came from Marrar- a small town of about 600 people between Junee and Coolamon.

That site takes it to 20 for Katrina, who seems well on her way to reaching at least 27.

This comes despite concerns that the new seat of Cootamundra is larger and more spread-out than the Burrinjuck electorate it replaces.

Check out our gallery of some of the many spots Katrina has been today.

3:30PM: On the topic of sausage sizzles and cake stalls- Cootamundra Public School has an excellent showing of both today raising money for their P&C.

For those of you who still haven’t voted- you’ve got two and a half hours! Get in quick before all the delicious treats and Cootalicious Cook Books are gone!

3:20PM: Harrison from the Cootamundra Herald back to take over your feed again!

Something that’s crucial to every voter is the obligatory polling booth sausage sizzle and cake stall.

In fact, our vox pop indicated it was the best thing about election day for one early-morning voter!

Sadly, as one disgruntled teacher in Harden has discovered, not every site is so well-equipped.

Perhaps the Kruger Wellness Centre thinks a sausage sizzle might clash with their healthy image?

3:15PM:

A steady stream of voters rolling in and out of the polling booth at North Wagga Public School.

North Wagga resident Ron Kerr voted for Labor’s Dan Hayes and believed the long-term lease of 49 per cent of the state’s electricity assets was the big ticket issue this election.

“Daryl Maguire is going to get in but Wagga needs to consider swinging,” he said.

“I want the seat to be marginal so we won’t get ignored.” 

- By Brodie Owen

2.45PM: As residents across the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area cast their votes, The Area News took a walk down memory lane to reflect on a larger than life politician, the late Al Grassby.

http://www.areanews.com.au/story/2976219/griffiths-father-of-multiculturalism/?cs=668

2.30PM: The Murray-Darling Basin Plan has dominated the election campaign in the new seat of Murray. Country Labor Party candidate Max Buljubasic was asked what his plan of action would be if elected. 

Other candidates were asked their views on the Plan in the lead up to the election.

http://www.areanews.com.au/story/2942605/meet-the-candidates/

Phil Sheather and Peter Carn reckon they’ve offloaded more than 200 sausages at the Wesley Uniting Church.

At $2.50 a sandwich, it’s good news for the church’s outreach program – a service that mainly provides breakfasts for disadvantaged students in the city’s schools.

Mr Sheather said he believed voting at the booth was down on previous elections.

“I think every second person I spoke to during the week had pre-polled,” he said. 

“That’s the trend.”

- By ​Brodie Owen

1.40PM:

Riverina Greens secretary Ray Goodlass makes his final pitch to voters, highlighting Kevin Poynter’s council experience as an asset he could take to Parliament.

Mr Goodlass said the mood of voters in Central Wagga was positive, believing Central voters were more inclined to vote Greens.

“But it’s not quite Newtown (Sydney),” he joked.

- By Brodie Owen

1.09PM:

According to quick exit polls in Junee, the sale of poles and wires and attitude to the environment are two issues identified so far by voters. However, the past performance of previous members by state representatives – which in Junee shire was the former Member for Murrumbidgee – Adrian Piccoli, the state government’s education minister.

12.39PM:

The queue is starting to build again before lunch at Junee High School, concerns have already been raised among volunteers about the number of staff working the polling station with some voters – including those with disabilities waiting up to 30 minutes before having their names marked off the list.

12.21PM:

Cootamunda’s Country Labor candidate Charlie Sheahan has been spotted in Junee.

Mr Sheahan who is trying to get around to as many of the voting booths has already chalked up visits to Coolac, Nangus, Gundagai and will be in Coolamon, Narrandera and then back to Temora.

“I’m trying to get to as many polling stations as posssible to thank all the volunteers,” Mr Sheahan said.

11.55AM: 

Here’s something for the barbecue lovers – which booth has the best sausage sizzle.

Cast you vote in our poll below and we will tally it up and let you know who won the title of the best election barbecue.

11.40AM: 

It isn’t an election without a barbecue.

Wagga 1^st Scouts have been cooking up a storm at their hall in Glenfield Park throughout the day.

Chair of the group support committee and chief barbecuer David Meiklejohn said the election was also a day for the community to come together and support local groups.

Egg and bacon rolls, sausages in bread and delicious home-baked goods will be for sale throughout the day.

Meanwhile over at Kooringal Public School the P&C committee were cooking sausages to perfection and selling raffle tickets.

Group president Jodie Hienes said the committee raised money for projects to help improve the school and had so far had a great response on election day.

11.25AM:

Wagga’s Country Labor candidate was down at the polls at Kooringal Public School, casting his vote and speaking to the community.

Handing out vote cards, Mr Hayes was making his message clear:

“To win by one vote would be the best result, to lose by own vote would be the second best result.” 

See what he had to say about the campaign.

11.10AM: Keep an eye our for some of our team when you head to the polls.

Southern Cross journalist Declan Rurenga is in Junee, talking to voters.

Cootamundra Herald reporter Harrison Vesey has already done the rounds – he’ll head across to Harden to see what’s happening there later today.

MIA editor Monique Patterson and Area News journalist Ben Jaffrey will keep you informed of what’s going on in the Murray electorate while photographer Anthony Stipo snaps away.

In Wagga, The Daily Advertiser reporters Olivia Shying and Brodie Owen are set to bring you updates throughout the day. Trusty photographers Les Smith, Laura Hardwick and Kieren Tilly will be getting great pictures throughout the day. 

10.55AM: Peter McClintock is a familiar face to voters in Cootamundra.

As president of the local Farmers Association branch and chairman of the local National Party branch, there’s no doubting his commitment to the politics and issues in the new seat of Cootamundra.

The Cootamundra Herald spoke to Peter this morning to ask what makes him committed enough to hand out how-to-vote cards on a cold morning.

10.30AM: Cootamundra Nationals candidate Katrina Hodgkinson has been busy trying to beat her record of 26 polling booth visits. She started her day in Mulyan and is now in Young ready to cast her vote.

10.15AM: Cootamundra candidate Charlie Sheahan was one of the first to cast his vote this morning.

The Country Labor candidate was up early to get to the voting centre at Cootamundra Public School, and he’ll spend the rest of the day on the road visiting polling booths.

10AM: Country Labor candidate for the seat of Murray was asked his views on what should be done about the Murray-Darling Basin Plan this morning.

9.20AM: Here are the front pages from around the country. Some interesting election-related covers!

See the rest here.

8.55AM: Just in case you’ve missed it in this very quiet election lead-up, here’s who is running for our regional seats today.

Wagga (in ballot order)

Murray (in ballot order)

Cootamundra (in ballot)

8.40AM: A bit of an interesting one that’s popped up in the Murray electorate in the last few days.

A media release issued by a campaign rating local members on Tuesday showed Member for Murrumbidgee Adrian Piccoli had a rating of 4/10. However, his rating has risen to 7/10 yesterday.

That’s a sudden rise. How did that happen? Read more about it here.

8.25AM: How many NSW premiers can you name?

The Fairfax team has compiled this very cool interactive outlining the state’s political history. Take a look  here.

8.15AM: Well, the campaigning is done and judgment day has come for Wagga’s six election hopefuls.

The electorate will go to the polls today, with incumbent Liberals MP Daryl Maguire vying for a fifth term in office.

His main challenger comes in the form of Country Labor’s Dan Hayes, while Kevin Poynter (Greens), Keith Pech (Christian Democratic Party), Joe Sidoti (No Land Tax Party) and Paul Funnell (Independent) are also vying to become the next member for Wagga.

How likely is change in the seat? Time will tell, but Labor hasn’t won over the Wagga electorate since 1957.

Read the full report here.

8AM: Well, election day is finally here! Before you head off on your weekend adventures, don’t forget to make your vote count. 

We’ve mapped out all the voting centres in the Wagga, Cootamundra and Murray electorates – just scroll down.

We’ll be bringing you rolling coverage of the 2015 state election from our Fairfax offices in Wagga, Griffith, Leeton, Junee and Cootamundra, touching on everything that’s happening right across the three electorates.

Feel like having some input in our coverage? Tag #waggavotes, #cootavotes or #murrayvotes on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and we’ll keep an eye out for your contributions.