TODAY, voters in Penarth join those across the UK in going to the polls to elect their next member of Parliament.

Polls opened at 7am today (June 8) and will close at 10pm with results for Cardiff South and Penarth due in the early hours of Friday morning at Cardiff City Hall. 

The Penarth Times took to the streets to find out why people in Penarth think it is important to exercise your democratic right.

Rowland Davies said that when he meets those who intend not to vote, he thinks of the struggles of the past to get everyone the right to vote.

He wonders if non-voters have the right to complain when they have, in affect, passively accepted the status quo.

One woman who was voting at the Parish Hall in Albert Road said: "I didn't used to vote I think it is now important to vote with everything that is going on."

Grace Pope, of Ludlow Street, said: "If you have the chance to vote you should. 

"I am going to university so it will affect me education wise."

Tricia Griffiths said she hadn't decided who to vote for yet but that "It is incredibly important to vote."

"If we want to maintain our democracy we have to get out and vote," she said.

The Penarth Times' live election blog will keep you updated from the count all through the night until the results have been announced.