South Wales Decides 2011: Voting begins

RESIDENTS from across South Wales are heading to polling stations to vote in the assembly election and the alternative vote referendum.

Polling stations opened their doors at 7am to allow residents to exercise their democratic right, and they are set to close at 10pm.

However, with wet weather forecast across the evening, council chiefs are hoping for a high turnout on a day which will also see Britain's first national referendum in more than 30 years

Voters in Wales will choose 60 assembly members - 40 in constituency seats and 20 from regional lists.

Votes in the National Assembly for Wales elections will be counted in the South Wales and Mid and West Wales regions from 10pm tonight and elections in Wales are run on a constituency by constituency basis.

As well as these elections, the first national referendum since 1975 will also take place, where voters will also decide whether to stick with the current system for electing MPs or switch to the Alternative Vote – where candidates are ranked in order of preference.

In our recent online poll, hundreds of people gave us their opinion on whether to vote in favour of the Alternative Vote (AV), or if they preferred the current method of First Past the Post (FPTP).

Half of those who voted in our poll said they were in favour of AV, However, 43 per cent of people said they would be voting to stay with the current system of First Past the Post.

Meanwhile, four per cent of people said they had not decided which way to vote in the ballot, and three per cent were unlikely to vote altogether.

Voters can find out where their polling station is by checking their poll card or calling their local council.

Postal votes need to be received by the Returning Officer by 10pm on Thursday 5 May.

Live results from across South Wales will be announced throughout the night on this website, via Twitter @SouthWalesNews and Facebook so keep checking for live updates as the evening progresses.

Votes in the UK-wide referendum will be counted tomorrow and the results will be available live on our website.

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