An elderly man who was wearing a MAGA hat was rushed to hospital after a violent incident at a polling booth in Anthony Albanese’s Sydney electorate.

The 79-year-old man was allegedly punched by a 17-year-old at the pre-polling booth on Liverpool Road, Ashfield, about 1pm Wednesday.

7NEWS reports that the elderly man was about to deface one of Albanese’s election posters when a female volunteer confronted him and began filming.

The teenager thought the woman was in danger and stepped in, striking the man from behind and causing him to fall to the ground, reports 7NEWS.

On Thursday morning, NSW Police said the teenager had been charged.

The man remained in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in a serious condition after being treated for head injuries.

“Officers from Burwood Police Area Command arrested the boy at the scene and took him to Burwood Police Station where he has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.”

The boy was refused bail to appear in a children’s court on Thursday.

The Australian Electoral Commission said it was aware of the incident in Albanese’s Grayndler electorate in Sydney’s inner west.

“The incident occurred outside of our polling place and did not involve any AEC staff,” said a statement.

“Voting operations are continuing at the pre-poll voting centre in Ashfield.”

In a separate incident in Sydney, a 30-year-old man was arrested after allegedly kicking election signs and yelling at Liberal Party volunteers at a booth in Macquarie Park.

The alleged incidents occurred as more than half a million Australians have already cast their vote during an early surge in pre-polling.

Around 542,000 voters made their decision across Australia on Tuesday, 70 per cent up on the tally for the first day of pre-polling at the 2022 election, according to Australian Electoral Commission data.

But it was hard to predict whether an expected 50 per cent overall early turnout ahead of May 3 would significantly increase on the back of these numbers, as pre-polling could flatten out during the public holiday period, the commission said.

PM’s minerals pledge

Meanwhile, the prime minister will detail plans to establish a critical minerals reserve to stockpile mining products and rare earth materials.

The announcement will be made while campaigning in the mining state of Western Australia on Thursday, where large swings at the 2022 election granted victory to Labor.

The strategic reserve would generate money for Australia through the sale of minerals on global markets to allies.

Stockpiles of the minerals would be set aside from commercial projects through contracts.

Labor has promised to spend $1.2 billion on setting up the reserve.

A critical minerals reserve had been floated as potential leverage against US President Donald Trump following his 10 per cent tariffs imposed on Australia.

The prime minister said the reserve would help provide national stability and make the most of natural resources.

“In a time of global uncertainty, Australia will be stronger and safer by developing our critical national assets to create economic opportunity and resilience,” Mr Albanese said.

“It will mean we can deal with trade and market disruptions from a position of strength, because Australia will be able to call on an internationally significant quantity of resources in global demand.”

Albanese is also set to give a speech and take questions at The West Australian’s Leadership Matters event on Thursday morning.

The prime minister flew into WA on Wednesday, making his way straight to Collie, south of Perth, to campaign at a battery storage facility.

He took aim at the coalition for pledging to build a nuclear reactor in the coal-mining community, despite Opposition Leader Peter Dutton not visiting the area during the election campaign.

“You would think that there was radiation coming from these sites, because he just won’t come and won’t talk about what his plans actually are,” he said.

Albanese also visited a pre-poll centre in the electorate of Canning, which the coalition holds by a 1.2 per cent margin.

-with AAP