Polling station 'how to vote' cards suggest how political parties and their candidates would like you to rank their opponents.

According to Charles Sturt University Political Science Professor Dominic O'Sullivan, preferences are a much bigger deciding factor in marginal seats or in Senate voting. "I think in the Riverina, it's highly unlikely to make a difference," he said.

In one of the country's historically safest seats, none of the eight candidates admitted to establishing local preference deals - each making unique ranking choices.

Greens candidate Michael Organ was preferenced last by five of the other seven candidates, reflecting the ballot's majority conservative slate.

Mr Organ placed incumbent Nationals MP Michael McCormack number eight. "That is very much a protest vote against this current government," he said.

Mr Organ knows better than most how important preferences can be after they helped him win the Cunningham byelection in 2002.

Michael McCormack reciprocated the ill-will between the Nationals and Greens, placing them at number eight. "I think the Greens represent the greatest clear and present danger to the values I espouse and to regional Australia," he said.

For what he called "ease of voting", Mr McCormack then ranked other candidates in the ballot order they appear. "I doubt whether they're going to count my preferences, and if they do, well, I'm in trouble," he said.

In another non-traditional strategy, independent Darren Ciavarella's card suggests voters place him number one, Mr McCormack number eight and the other six candidates in any order.

"In all honesty and fairness to the people of the Riverina, as an independent, how could I seriously preference one or the other parties?" Mr Ciavarella said.

One Nation's Richard Orchard said the decision to place Mr McCormack sixth, ahead of Labor and Greens, was a strategic move to not alienate potential voters.

"I'm looking at trying to get McCormack's constituents to vote for me as a viable, sane, intelligent alternative to him," he said. "How are they going to feel if they would have followed [my card] and thought, 'he's, actually preferenced Greens before McCormack'."

Labor's Mark Jeffreson preferenced candidates most aligned with his party's own policies, such as the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party second for their "dissatisfaction with the national status quo" and the Greens in third for their climate change stance.

Mr Jeffreson said placing One Nation's Richard Orchard last was not a reflection on the Riverina candidate but of Labor's country-wide self-agreement.

"It's party policy that One Nation go last on all our ballots, but I was happy enough to recommend that anyway," he said.

Shooters, Fishers and Farmers candidate Steve Karaitiana, like many smaller party candidates, has ranked the Nationals, Labor and Greens on the end of his ballot. "I think it just boils down to the policies," he said.

Liberal Democrats' Dean McCrae said the decision to place United Australia Party number two on his ballot was in line with a country-wide agreement between the parties for one-two preferences.

As for his last two preferences, Mr McCrae responded in kind to candidates who he said placed him low on their ballots.

"I just did a straight preference deal with the Greens, eight for eight," he said. "And I did a like for like deal with Michael McCormack, seven for seven."

At the time of publication, the Greens preferenced Mr McCrae fifth on their Riverina ballot.

United Australia Party candidate Daniel Martelozzo said he had no input in his how to vote card, with the party filling the ballot's last three spots with Labor, the Nationals and Greens.

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