What the rules are on using pens or pencils at polling stations

Polling stations have opened across Britain for the third General Election in five years.

Voters will head to the ballot boxes between 7am and 10pm today.

If you live in England, Wales or Scotland you do not need to take any identification to vote; however you will need to show photo ID in Northern Ireland.

You do not have to take your polling card with you, but the Electoral Commission advises that having it with you can help speed up the process.

And when you get to the polling booth, there will be a pencil but voters can use a pen if they prefer.

The Electoral Commission explain that pencils are generally used to mark ballot papers for practical reasons: ink may dry or spill, or could smudge and transfer when the ballot paper is folded, which could lead to your ballot paper being rejected. But this is not mandatory - you can use your own pen if you prefer.

But they warn voters not to write anything else on the paper - other than a cross in one box - or your vote may not be counted.

If you make a mistake - as long as you have not already put it in the ballot box - polling station staff can give you a replacement ballot paper.

The pens or pencils at polling stations debate seemed to emerge during the EU referendum when some voters, mostly Brexit supporters, were concerned that if they use pencil, their votes would be rubbed out.

That's when the hashtag #usepens appeared on Twitter, with voters urging others to take their own pens to put a cross in the box so that it cannot be erased.

Met Office forecast for Election Day

The Electoral Commission explained at the time: "The use of pencils does not in itself increase the likelihood of electoral fraud. Legislation has built specific safeguards into the process, such as the requirement for seals to be attached to ballot boxes at the close of poll.

"By law, campaigners are also entitled to be present at that stage and to attach their own seals if they wish. At the start of the count, they can then observe those same seals being broken.

"Tampering with ballot papers is a serious offence and if anyone has evidence that ballot papers are being tampered with, they should report this to the police."