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Thursdays may not be the traditional day for letting one's hair down and partying with friends with a tipple or two - but as Christmas approaches and festive cheer takes hold, the rules can sometimes bend.

But this year is not like a normal one - and that festive cheer has been more or less replaced with a General Election.

Many will have already cast their postal votes, and others will be visiting polling booths early on Thursday morning.

But some may accidentally find themselves remembering to vote at 9.45pm after an impromptu session at the pub.

Of course, we do not condone drinking too much alcohol or taking recreational drugs. Ever.

But particularly not on polling day. You do need a clear head to make a decision like, you know, who you trust to run the country.

However, if you do find yourself worse for wear with a vote still to cast, it's useful to know whether or not you'll be getting yourself in trouble by venturing inside voting booth.

The short answer is, even though it's a really, really bad idea, nobody can stop you from voting while under the influence as long as you hold it together.

It's at polling station staff's discretion to ask you to come back later, if you turn up drunk and start acting rowdy. Presiding Officers must maintain order in the polling station.

They have the power to order a person’s removal from the polling station. Eligible voters must nevertheless be allowed to vote before they are removed. A person who has been removed from the polling station and has not voted may only be re-admitted on the authority of the Presiding Officer.

If the person returns and conducts themselves in an orderly manner, they must be given the opportunity to vote.

So there you have it.

The easiest solution, of course, is just don't turn up to vote drunk.