6,898 enrolled residents of the region of Douglas will today decide whether it will remain amalgamated with Cairns Regional Council, or split to form a new Douglas Shire Council.

While polling booths have been receiving votes over the past couple of weeks, today is the day that has been in the minds of the community - a day when the very future of the region is at stake.

The two central players in the hotly competed contest to date, Friends Of Douglas Shire (FODS) and People Of Douglas (POD), have campaigned hard, particularly in the last six weeks, to influence voters.

It has been a drama that has played out publicly, and has all the ingredients of a good soap opera.

For the average resident with a foot in neither camp, reaching a decision is likely to have been no easy task.

Fears of huge rate rises and economic turmoil emanating from one camp have been matched in their intensity by the fear of a loss of representation and identity from the other.

Determining fact from fiction will no doubt have been a challenge.

But vote we must, and with people heading to the polls in Livingstone, Mareeba, and Noosa as well as Douglas today, all eyes will soon turn to the results which are expected to be known some time tomorrow.

Keep coming back to The Newport as we'll bring you all the action and news from the Douglas vote.