![In Wollongong, pre-poll voters could be forgiven for thinking they might get to number a box with the Premier's name on it. Picture by Adam McLean. In Wollongong, pre-poll voters could be forgiven for thinking they might get to number a box with the Premier's name on it. Picture by Adam McLean.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/3f1c8dec-825a-472c-8cb9-1f91343bc1f2.jpg/r0_307_6013_3701_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Corflutes. It's a word you never hear outside of an election period, along with others like ballot box, polling booth, two-party preferred and democracy sausage.
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The signs, printed on corrugated plastic best known under the brand Corflute, usually start appearing on expressway overpasses and front yards of party supporters a few weeks out from the poll.
Now that the election is just days away, they have well and truly popped up everywhere, and in their own way, give a good look at what's happening across the political landscape in the region.
For instance, the Shellhabour CBD pre-poll booth is mainly a corflute-off between Labor incumbent Anna Watson and the independent candidate and mayor Chris Homer who (with the help of Liberal preferences) is hoping to repeat his success at the Shellharbour council election.
![The Shellhabour CBD pre-poll booth is mainly a corflute-off between Labor incumbent Anna Watson and the independent candidate and mayor Chris Homer. The Shellhabour CBD pre-poll booth is mainly a corflute-off between Labor incumbent Anna Watson and the independent candidate and mayor Chris Homer.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/d141d740-70c1-4121-b807-bb9ddc3e1e53.jpg/r0_253_4951_3048_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Repeat Greens candidate Jamie Dixon's face is also in the mix, but the Liberal Party's approach to the seat is pretty clear, with no corflutes at all.
In Wollongong, pre-poll voters could be forgiven for thinking they might get to number a box with the Premier's name on it.
There, the Liberal corflutes all have Dominic Perrottet's face on them, with no sign of the last-minute local candidate among the photos of Labor MP Paul Scully and Green candidate Cath Blakey.
![Thanks to the Animal Justice Party's corfluting efforts, voters in Keira may also think there's a chance of voting in a greyhound or chicken. Picture by Adam McLean, Thanks to the Animal Justice Party's corfluting efforts, voters in Keira may also think there's a chance of voting in a greyhound or chicken. Picture by Adam McLean,](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/a1def0fe-105c-442a-b4bf-7425f65258f1.jpg/r0_309_6040_3718_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Probably unbeknownst to most early voters, the Liberal candidate Joel Johnson has been at the booth in person most of the week, handing out his how-to-votes (another term you only get to hear at election time)
At Dan Murphys in North Wollongong, the hopeful faces of political candidates have been partially covered by a fast-food meal deal sign, which may or may not indicate what people care more about.
Same goes in Shellharbour, where candidate's faces were partially obscured by a big VOTE 1 AMALI sign at the entrance to the Princes Highway at Flinders.
![Liberal Party's teenage candidate Noah Shipp has got his face lined up next to Mr Perrottet - whose sign proclaims "leadership experience" - in at least a couple of locations. Liberal Party's teenage candidate Noah Shipp has got his face lined up next to Mr Perrottet - whose sign proclaims "leadership experience" - in at least a couple of locations.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/b2d4edda-ad27-417d-ac5f-4e9bb6a0cfb4.jpg/r0_302_5911_3638_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Up in Keira, the Liberal Party's teenage candidate Noah Shipp has got his face lined up next to Mr Perrottet - whose sign proclaims "leadership experience" - in at least a couple of locations.
But he hasn't quite matched the efforts of popular Labor MP Ryan Park and Greens candidate Kit Docker who are everywhere across the electorate.
Thanks to the Animal Justice Party's corfluting efforts, voters in Keira may also think there's a chance of voting in a greyhound or chicken.
![What the corflutes tell us about the Illawarra's political landscape What the corflutes tell us about the Illawarra's political landscape](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/f7f2ed36-6396-40b1-9b31-2dc30e47471b.jpg/r0_307_5893_3622_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Down in Kiama, it looks like Liberal-turned-Independent Gareth Ward's camp is leaving no stone - or stump - of his vast electorate unturned, with corflute signs even posted on trees and along farm fences in Jamberoo.
At the polling booth on Manning Street earlier this week, there were duelling blue how-to-votes - one for Mr Ward and one for Liberal candidate Melanie Gibbons - but no Liberal corflutes, with Mr Ward's former party leaving him to dominate the blue signs.
![What the corflutes tell us about the Illawarra's political landscape What the corflutes tell us about the Illawarra's political landscape](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/9237868e-9cc1-47db-89f8-ae06c3b59c64.jpg/r0_350_6720_4130_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
It appears some Kiama residents have picked their colours early, with quite a number of front yards in the town staked with the face of the home grown Labor candidate Katelin McInerney.
Come Sunday morning, the corflutes will all disappear, hopefully to be recycled or maybe packed away to be used at the next election.
Or not, in the case of some candidates.