Election Day: First figures in as Laois voters start making their political choices

The first wave of voting has got underway in Laois this Friday, June 7.

Doors opened to the polling stations at 7am, but it was a quiet start for urban areas, and a little busier in more rural towns.

A snapshot of some of the 114 voting centres in Laois shows that by 9am in Portlaoise, just 17 voters had had their say at two ballot boxes totalling 1,840 voters, which is a turnout of less than 1%.

Booth 11 at the Holy Family Senior School had issued just three local ballot papers, and two European ballot papers. That Booth has a total of 590 voters registered. Booth 12 next to it in the school has a larger number of 1,250 voters registered to have their say. There by 9am,  14 European ballots were cast, and 15 Local ballots. 

Portlaoise Municipal District stretches down to Abbeyleix, with 20 local election candidates vying for just seven seats.

Over in Mountmellick, part of the Mountmellick Borris-in-Ossory MD, Scoil Phadraig Naofa BNS was a little busier taking votes, with a turnout of 2.4% by 9am.

Booth 3 with 592 on the register, had already issued 15 ballots on both papers by 9am. Booth 4 beside it with 703 on the register, had issued 15 European Papers and 16 Local papers. 

Rural voting snapshots have come in from Rathdowney and Rosenallis.

The Parochial Hall Rathdowney is the vote centre for the town, which is in the Mountmellick Borris-in-Ossory Municipal District.

By 9am there, 35 voters had had their say, 2.5% of the turnout.

At Booth 1 with a Register of 672 voters, 17 ballots on both papers had been issued to voters by 9am.  In Booth 2 with another 717 voters registered, 18 had come in to cast their votes by 9am.

The Rosenallis Community Centre was relatively busier, with 2.75% of voters out in the early morning. 

Booth 1 with 440 registered to vote, saw 17 voters come in by 9am to vote on both the local and European elections. Booth 2 for 611 more voters, had issued another 12 ballots on both papers.

There are 68,472 people registered to vote in the council election. That's a rise of nearly 9% on the 2019 local poll when the total electorate was 62,965.

Voters will have their say on which of the 47 local election candidates and 27 European hopefuls will represent them in County Hall Portlaoise and the parliament in Brussels.

Figures are courtesy of the office of the Laois Offaly Returning Officer.  More updates to follow throughout the day.