Five candidates are vying for the vacant Sackville-Cobequid seat in the Nova Scotia Legislature in Tuesday's by-election

The polls open for the Sackville-Cobequid by-election Tuesday.

Five candidates are gunning for the vacant seat in the legislature.

David Boyd for the Atlantica party, Steve Craig for the PC party, Anthony Edmonds for the Greens, Lara Fawthrop for the NDP and Michel Hindlet for the Liberals.

The NDP has held on to that seat for over 30 years and it was left vacant last year after former MLA Dave Wilson stepped down from his post.

According to Elections Nova Scotia, over 2,500 ballots have been cast already in early voting.

Naomi Shelton with Elections Nova Scotia telling NEWS 95.7 there are over 15,000 registered voters in that riding.

"So those are voters that have their name on the Nova Scotia Voters List, and that doesn't mean that those that aren't currently registered, and are eligible to vote, can't vote," explains Shelton.

But, she says, there are certain requirements that need to be met before someone can cast a ballot.

"A person would have to be 18 years of age, a Canadian citizen, they'd have to be a resident of the electoral district of Sackville-Cobequid, and they would have had to live in Nova Scotia since November 15th, 2018," says Shelton.

Shelton explains how a winner is decided.

"Well Nova Scotia has a first past the post system, so it is the candidate that gets the most votes," says Shelton. "So we'll have to wait and see the election day results."

Once the polls close at 8 p.m., the live feed results can be found on the Elections Nova Scotia website.