Polling stations will open at 7am today, and will remain open until 10pm to enable more than three million voters cast their ballots in the Lisbon Treaty referendum.
Counting of votes will begin tomorrow at 9am, and an official result is expected in the early evening.
Polling cards and a statement of information were due to have been sent to all voters. Some politicians, however, were continuing to complain yesterday about the manner in which they were distributed together.
Labour Party environment spokesman Ciaran Lynch said: “I know of a number of instances where members of the public disposed of their information booklet, unaware that they were also throwing out their polling cards.”
Dublin Central Fianna Fáil TD Cyprian Brady urged people to double-check their mail for polling cards as they could be mistaken for direct marketing.
Regardless of whether they have polling cards, voters may be required to produce evidence of identity at a polling station, and anyone who fails to do so when asked will not be allowed to vote.
A range of documents will be accepted as evidence of identity.
They include a passport, driving licence, employee or student identity card containing name and photograph, a travel document containing name and photograph, a bank book with an address in the constituency, a birth certificate or a marriage certificate.
The ballot paper for the referendum will be white. If voters wish to approve the proposal they should put an X in the square beside TÁ/YES or, if they do not approve, they should mark X in the square beside NÍL/NO.
While voters should mark X in the box, any clear sign of their preference such as 1 in the relevant box will be taken as a valid vote.
If a mark is put in both boxes then the vote will be invalid.
All political activity will be prohibited in the vicinity of polling stations for the duration of the poll and for half an hour before and after.
After the polls close the ballot boxes at each station will be brought to the count centre for the constituency concerned.
They will be opened at 9am tomorrow. Counting will begin with the verification of the number of papers in the ballot boxes, followed by the counting of votes for each side.
The results of each constituency count will then be forwarded to the count centre in Dublin Castle.
