Territorians casting final votes at their own pace
Voters have trickled in to election booths across Darwin as the countdown to polls closing begins.
People appear to be voting across a few key issues including environment, crime and cost of living.
In Fannie Bay voting started slow but picked up as market-goers collected Saturday breakfast laksas and dropped off ballots.
Earlier in the week, Australian National University Professor John Wanna, said there was a shift in behaviour with early-career voters increasingly sharing houses and values.
Three housemates who spoke to AAP at Parap Primary school all said they voted for the Greens because they cared "strongly about the environment".
But their decisions were influenced by one person in the house, who they described as "knowing the policies best".
An elderly couple said the economy and environment had also swung their vote towards the minor party.
"I think people in the top end really enjoy being out. They love nature and they appreciate that up here. It's a fragile environment and we have to look after it," one said.
His partner felt politics had created "end-stage-capitalism" and people needed to "think smarter about the economy".
AAP also spoke to a number of voters concerned about rising rates of property theft in the Northern Territory.
Both major party leaders were out in Palmerston speaking with voters, with the Chief Minister Eva Lawler expected to rove around inner north polling booths from midday.
Electoral commission data shows 85,000 of more than 150,000 registered Territorians chose to cast ballots before Saturday.
Key seats in Darwin's northern suburbs have seen a slightly higher pre-poll turnout, including Nightcliff, Fannie Bay and Johnston where there are strong independents vying for office.
However overall pre-poll data is down, indicating there are more people on the electoral roll this year but total turnout could decline.
Since 2023, the electoral commission has significantly increased enrolment in the NT with a nine per cent boost across the roll causing a redistribution of 18 of 25 seats.
Through the Federal Enrolment program, the commission visited more than 70 remote communities, completed 1700 enrolment checks, updated 150 enrolments and added 80 new voters.
More than 260 engagement sessions were completed, with the last one held at the Garma Festival in northeast Arnhem Land earlier this month.
While academics crunch the numbers, the Territory's resident psychic croc, Speckles, is going with his gut.
When presented with images of Labor's Chief Minister Eva Lawler and Country Liberal Party leader Lia Finnochiaro, Speckles predicted Labor would return for a third term.
The Territory tradition has delivered mixed results, with Speckles predicting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would win in 2022 but some of his other picks wide of the mark.
Fun and games aside, experts are predicting a reasonable swing to the Country Liberal Party.
Territory electorates consist of just over 6000 voters, often making margins in the 25 seats extremely tight.
Despite Labor's victory in 2020, eight seats recorded majorities under 120 votes and four of them were under 50.
Chief Election Analyst for the ABC Antony Green has said Ms Lawler's Drysdale seat could "be the pivot point that determines the fate of the government".
"The loss of just two seats will cost the Labor government its majority while the CLP need a net gain of six seats for majority government," he wrote on his blog.
"In between two seats and six lies the possibility of minority government, the fate of both major parties resting on the assembly crossbench.
"After two terms of Labor government, everything points to there being a swing to the Country Liberals, the election to be fought overwhelmingly in Labor seats."
Prof Wanna said protest votes could also have an impact among the growing number of younger Territorians, with trends reflecting discontent with the two-party-preferred system.
Longitudinal data shows a dramatic change in voting behaviour at a national level driving independent and green votes up.
