A scheme to increase the number of people voting in this year's local elections in Gateshead has enjoyed early success.
Thousands of returns have already been received at Gateshead Civic Centre in the first borough-wide postal ballot to elect 22 of Gateshead's 66 local councillors.
More than 150,000 registered voters have postal voting cards and reply-paid envelopes, giving them the chance to cast their vote immediately, without having to wait for the May deadline.
Gateshead was chosen as one of the first areas of the country to be allowed to hold its local council elections entirely by post, in a bid to get more people voting.
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