Tally (voting)

A tally is an unofficial private observation of an election count carried out under the single transferable vote electoral system.

Individual tallymen may be placed to observe the opening of each box and watch as separate bundles of ballot papers are sorted, stacked and counted.

They record their estimation of counts by marking votes for each candidate on their 'tally sheet' as a tick (/) which are then assembled together to produce a full prediction of what the likely outcome of the result will be.

In the Republic of Ireland, a national prediction of an election outcome may be made on RTÉ by lunchtime on count day, before a single seat has officially been filled.

The planned introduction in the Republic of Ireland of electronic voting for the 2004 local elections was expected to lead to the demise of the tally system.