EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) – The polls have closed and vote counting is underway in Scotland’s historic referendum on whether to end the country’s 307-year-old union with England.
Polling places reported a heavy turnout today. More than 4.2 million people were registered to vote – 97 per cent of those eligible.
As soon as the polls closed, vote counting began at 32 regional centres across Scotland. The final result on the independence vote is expected sometime after 1 a.m. tomorrow.
A vote for independence will trigger 18 months of negotiations on how the two countries will separate their institutions before Scotland’s planned Independence Day on March 24, 2016.
