Wagga-based Nationals upper house MP Wes Fang questioned Labor’s Dan Hayes and Shooters party’s Seb McDonagh preferencing each other at number three.

Mr Fang claimed their number two choices would poll so low as to be meaningless in the vote count, which would benefit both Labor and the Shooters despite disagreements on gun laws and the environment.

“It’s clearly just a grubby preference deal,” Mr Fang said,

“They have no policies in common. This is clearly about politics over policy.

“The parties would have done a deal in another seat or in the upper house.”

Mr Hayes denied he had made a deal and said he was not involved in preference decisions.

“This election is about winning. My preferences won’t go anywhere if I come in first or second, and that’s what we are hoping to achieve,” Mr Hayes said.

A Shooters spokesperson said the party was focused on getting its own members elected.

“There were no deals done to preference Labor or anyone else,” the spokesperson said.

“Preferences are for voters to decide. We can only make recommendations.”

As preferential voting is optional in NSW state elections, frontrunners like Liberal candidate Julia Ham and independent Joe McGirr have left their how-to-vote cards blank after putting themselves at number one.

Ms Ham said her campaign had left out preferences as it was “easier”.

“Preferential voting is mandatory in federal elections but optional in state elections so we just thought, like Joe (McGirr) and (independent) Paul (Funnell), just to put ourselves as number one,” she said.

Mr Funnell said this week that his supporters should preference Dr McGirr at number two behind himself despite his printed how-to-vote cards have no preferences after himself.

On Wednesday, Mr Funnell posted a new how-to-vote card on his campaign Facebook page with Dr McGirr at number two.

Mr Funnell said his polling station volunteers would give verbal advice on preferences rather than reprint 60,000 cards.

The Liberal campaign is reportedly hoping that Labor receives more votes than Dr McGirr to prevent the popular independent from gaining a substantial boost from preferences.

Charles Sturt University associate professor in political science Dominic O'Sullivan said Dr McGirr was in the best position to benefit from preferences if voters followed the how-to-vote cards.

2 – Christian/Arentz

3 – Labor/Hayes

4 – Independent/McGirr

5 – Independent/Funnell

6 – Liberal/Ham

2 – Labor/Hayes

3 – Independent/McGirr

4 – Independent/Funnell

5 – Liberal/Ham

6 – Christians/Arentz

7 – Shooters/McDonagh

2 – Shooters/McDonagh

3 – Liberal/Ham

2 – Independent/McGirr

2 – Greens/Goodlass

3 – Shooters/McDonagh

4 – Independent/McGirr

5 – Independent/Funnell

6 – Christians/Arentz

7 – Liberal/Ham