It's the second time he's drawn the prime slot in two consecutive elections.

The air was thick with anticipation as candidates gathered at the NSW Electoral Commission office on Thursday morning, awaiting their fate on the ballot draw.

A previously unannounced hopeful for the seat of Wagga, independent Matt Quade, drew second spot, followed by Colin Taggart of the Australian Conservatives in third.

The incumbent, Dr Joe McGirr, sits in the middle of the ballot in fourth place, preceding Labor's Dan Hayes in fifth.

Greens' candidate Ray Goodlass is one short of the bottom of the list in sixth and the Nationals' Mackenna Powell will be smarting from the last placement on the slip.

It is becoming a tradition for Mr Hayes - who is contesting his third election for the the seat of Wagga - to give the box containing the ballot slips a "final shake" before the draw begins. It seemed to have brought him greater luck this time, compared to the ballot draw for the September byelection, which saw him take the bottom position.

While Mr Quade was not at Thursday's ballot draw, the other six candidates were on hand to watch election manager Darrel Martin draw out their names.

Mr McDonagh, 47, said he believed the three biggest issues going into the election campaign were crime, health and education.

A registered nurse and former private security contractor, Mr Quade told The Daily Advertiser two of his biggest concerns were health - both within nursing and coronial investigations - and energy security issues.

Mr Taggart, who is in his mid-50s, said some of the big-tickets priorities for him were unfunded population growth and energy prices.

Dr McGirr, 58, who was elected just six months ago, listed responsible growth, safe and supported communities, and an independent voice for the electorate as his priorities.

For Country Labor's Dan Hayes, 38, the priorities are "schools and hospitals before Sydney stadiums".

Mr Goodlass, 73, who also contested the 2018 byelection for The Greens, said the big issues were climate change, rescuing the environment "before it is too late" and the "proper, full resourcing of all public resources".

The Nationals' Mackenna Powell, who is in her 40s, is the only woman candidate standing for Wagga.

For Ms Powell, the biggest issues in the campaign are crime, youth engagement and a 24-hour drug support service, country roads and jobs.

Various studies of Australian politics have estimated that between 1 and 3 per cent of voters simply mark the ballot in numerical order from top to bottom in a so-called ‘donkey vote’.

Therefore, the candidate lucky enough to draw the first spot can get a vote boost with no effort or expense required.

Shooters' Seb McDonagh drew the prime top place on the ballot for the 2018 byelection, while Labor's Dan Hayes bottomed out in last place.

Independent Dr Joe McGirr won the byelection despite being listed third on the ballot, and Ray Goodlass for the Greens placed fourth on the voting slip.

Pre-poll voting for the March 23 election opens on Monday, the same day that iVote will also open.

In Wagga, pre-poll voting will be held at 72 Fitzmaurice Street, while in Tumut, voters can visit the Montreal Community Theatre in Russell Street.

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