An increasing number of voters now take the opportunity to vote by post.
Postal Votes have to be in before Election Day, and a special session will be called for the Opening of Postal Votes for Each Ward and Division.
Your local Democratic or Electoral Services Department will be able to tell you when the Postal Votes will be opened for your area.
You will be allowed to attend perhaps with one other person, but will normally be expected to confirm who will be attending prior to the session itself.
Attendance is not required, and your time is likely to be better used working on your Election Campaign, talking to potential voters and knocking on doors.
The Agents for the Political Parties usually attend the Opening of Postal Votes on behalf of candidates, just to check that procedures are followed and everything appears normal.
The process is usually governed very tightly in order to prevent observers from gaining an idea of how the Postal Votes have been allocated.
What you should remember is that with Postal Votes being cast earlier in the Election, the Result can look very different to that which is received at the Count itself.
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