Tasmania votes: Here's what you need to know for the 2024 state ...

When will we have a result?

How many people have already voted?

How many candidates are there?

Where do I vote?

Does the way I vote have to change with more seats?

Does the count pause on Sunday?

Voters turn out in Braddon

At the polling booth at Devonport's Reece High School in the electorate of Braddon, voters trickled steadily through the doors this morning.

For local voter Steven Turley, Tasmania's housing crisis is personal.

"Our family has battled for the past 10 years. We've been homeless three times," he says.

"We've felt the full force of that crisis."

Steven Turley wants the incoming government to address the housing crisis.(ABC News: Ashleigh Barraclough)

Mr Turley and his family have a home now, but he will be voting with housing as well as health and education at the top of his mind.

Outside the polling booth, he wasn't sure how he would vote, but he hoped for a majority government so it could tackle the big issues.

Locals Layken and Paige Farrugia are voting with their young kids in mind.

Health and education are big topics for them.

"The major parties are prioritising the stadium over healthcare understaffing at hospitals," Mr Farrugia said.

"Imagine what that money could do for the health system."

Ms Farrugia hopes something will change after the election.

"We vote for the same people all the time and nothing's changing," she says.

 Braddon voters Paige and Layken Farrugia say health and education are top priorities for their family.(ABC News: Ashleigh Barraclough)

Party leaders cast their votes

After five and a half weeks of campaigning, Tasmanian political candidates have reached the finish line. 

The majority of more than 400,000 enrolled Tasmanians will cast their votes today, deciding which, if any, major political party can form majority government.

Liberal leader Jeremy Rockliff was out at Sassafras with his mum this morning to celebrate her birthday before dropping in to a polling booth in his Braddon electorate.

"We're still working hard to achieve that majority," Mr Rockliff said.

"I know our candidates will be working around their electorates respectfully, today on polling day as well, to see if we could achieve that majority.

"I'm proud, particularly of our candidates. [They're a] great bunch of people from all walks of life."

Jeremy Rockliff with his mum Geri. The Liberals are seeking a record fourth term in office.(ABC News: Ashleigh Barraclough)

Labor's Rebecca White was the first of the major party leaders to cast a vote, heading to Sorell's Memorial Hall in her electorate of Lyons at 9am.

Ms White said she was proud of the campaign the party had run and she felt there was a "mood for change" on the ground.

"[The Liberals] have been, I think, caught on the hop a little bit. And that's ironic, even though they called the election early," she said.

"I do honestly believe that Labor has set this agenda this election campaign. I'm proud of our campaign. I'm proud of our candidates.

"I think our policies really will help to deliver a good government for Tasmania, if we are elected."

The Labor leader will be hoping it is third time likely when the voting booths close, after losing at the 2018 and 2021 state elections.

Labor leader Rebecca White feels her party has been on the front foot throughout the campaign.(ABC News: Matthew Growcott)

At Warrane Public School on Hobart's eastern shore, Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff said there was a mood for change which she was confident would be reflected in the polls and put the Greens in the balance of power.

"So many Tasmanians have put their voices behind the issues that the Greens have been campaigning for," she said.

"We've really put the issues on the agenda for the campaign. If it wasn't for the Greens we wouldn't have been talking about free public transport, renters' rights, short-stay regulations and real fixes for the health system."

Ms Woodruff said what she had been hearing was that people want a different way of doing things and they wanted people who would fight for them.

"They want respectful politics," she said. "They want action. They want people who are prepared to sit down and collaborate. They want solutions."

Rosalie Woodruff says the Greens hope to hold the balance of power.(ABC News: Matthew Growcott)

Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie joined fellow Jacqui Lambie Network party members at a Devonport polling booth, where she was questioned on her party's decision to not announce lead candidates.

"We don't have lead candidates because we only have three in each electorate running. I'm not sure what a lead candidate is," she said.

"It's really unfair to put a lead candidate out and concentrate on them and ask others to run. You've got to give everybody a fair chance."

Fancy a Jacqui 'Lamb'ington with that?

Voters in the Hobart suburb of Mt Nelson have been able to to munch on a politically themed bickie while mulling over their vote and queuing outside the Mt Nelson Primary School hall ahead of putting pencil to paper.

From the Sue Hickey Sticky Toffee Cake to the "Madeleine" Ogilvie, few sitting politicians and candidates from across Tasmania's political sphere have escaped the school's sugary treatment. 

Amanda Avens, a parent at the school and chief fundraiser, said the school was well known for its tongue-in-cheek cake stall.

"We've had some great things like the Jacqui lamingtons and the Simon Behra'Kiss' biscuits," Ms Avens said.

"We just keep that tradition going and we'll try to be creative with all the new pollies that come through to add to that list."

Crispy Kristie Crackles, named for Kristie Johnston an Independent candidate for Clark.(ABC News: Lily Thompson)

Final remarks as voters head to the ballot box

Liberal leader Jeremy Rockliff, who called the election more than a year earlier than scheduled due to governing in minority, is attempting to be elected as premier in his own right for the first time.

He urged voters to elect a majority Liberal government for the fourth straight time.

"We have done a lot. There's more to do. There's a lot at risk," he said.

Labor Leader Rebecca White is hoping it's third time lucky after losing at the 2018 and 2021 elections.

In a letter to members on Friday, she said voters had a clear choice.

"Between a tired, decade-old Liberal government that is focused on the wrong priorities. Or a Labor government that is ready to take urgent action to ease the cost of living, repair the health system and get more people into affordable housing."

As voters head to the polls, the ABC took a look at what people need to know.

Party leaders Rebecca White and Jeremy Rockliff have said they won't do "deals" with minor parties or independents.(ABC News: Maren Preuss)

Let's start with the big one. When will we have a result?

It'll take some time to know exactly what Tasmania's next parliament will look like.

ABC chief election analyst Antony Green said we'll have a pretty good idea about whether the Liberals or Labor can govern in majority on election night, but there will likely be a handful of contests where the winner is unclear.

According to Electoral Commissioner Andrew Hawkey, it could take more than two weeks until the final result is formally declared.

With Tasmania's lower house — the House of Assembly — expanding to 35 seats, there's more MPs who will be elected, and more candidates contesting the available spots. And with an Easter break in the middle of the process, less time to count.

"Due to the increased number of candidates and the need to elect seven rather than five candidates, it is expected that this will add at least one day to the Hare-Clark process," Mr Hawkey said. 

"Therefore, final outcomes and results may not be known until the week commencing Monday April 8."

How many people have already voted?

As of Friday morning, 66,352 people had cast their votes at the 14 early voting centres around the state.

It's expected that will end up totalling close to 80,000, smashing the previous pre-poll record of 69,664 at the 2021 election.

Mr Hawkey said about 20,000 of the 29,000 postal voting forms sent out had already been returned, and more than 2,000 interstate and overseas voters had cast their ballots for the first time over the phone. 

All up, it means more than a quarter of enrolled Tasmanians have already voted in advance of polling day.

How many candidates are contesting the election?

There are 167 candidates, a Tasmanian record. The largest number are in Lyons, with 36 candidates. There are 35 in Clark, 33 in Braddon, 32 in Bass and 31 in Franklin.

I didn't vote early. Where do I go today?

There are 255 polling places around the state. No matter where you are in Tasmania, you can make your voice heard, and maybe have a democracy sausage while you're at it.

There's a list of polling places in the three daily newspapers, and you can also find it here.  

Does the way I vote have to change with more seats?

It sure does. Instead of numbering at least five boxes for your vote to count, you now have to do at least seven. And Mr Hawkey recommends doing more than that, to ensure that your vote counts.

There's nothing stopping you numbering every box, to get that satisfying feeling of putting your least-liked candidate last.

Just remember to give your favourite candidate a number one, and to fill out at least seven boxes.

Does the vote counting pause on Sunday?

Normally, yes. This time it might continue, depending on how much progress is made on election night.