When voters in Western Australia turn up to polling booths next year, they will be making history in more ways than one.

The humble pencil, used in every election since Federation, will have been replaced by a pen.

The revelation was made by WA Electoral Commissioner David Kerslake during a parliamentary committee hearing to discuss preparations for the March 2017 election.

"We constantly get asked questions about why we use pencils and there are conspiracy theorists out there who would suggest that we rub all the numbers out and replace them with other ones," Mr Kerslake told the Community Development and Justice Standing Committee.

"It puts paid to that perception. It addresses the reality that some people like to bring along their own pens."

Mr Kerslake said the commission had only considered the transition in recent years, after New South Wales switched to pens.

"We haven't used them in the past because we can sharpen pencils and pens run out, but we'll just have enough of them. There'll be ample pens."

No letter to voters

In a wide-ranging briefing, Mr Kerslake said the commission's budget, in real terms, would be smaller than in 2013, given there would be an extra 200,000 voters.

"Effectively, what we will be having to do is provide the same level of service that we always have," he said.

"We will just be watching our pennies very carefully in terms of our expenditure, but not in terms of curtailing services."

One saving will be the abolition of the traditional letter to voters, which cost about $1.2 million last election.

Mr Kerslake said there would be a greater focus on communicating with voters online.

"We will be putting more emphasis in the social media area, because that's one of the areas where we think we will get more bang for our buck," he said.

The commission expects about 25 per cent of people will vote early, in line with recent trends.

The election will be held on Saturday, March 11.