EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — By day’s end, voters in Scotland will have decided the future of their country’s union with England — which has lasted for 307 years.
There are rival “Yes” and “No” billboards and campaigners outside many polling places, where voters were lined up even before they opened this morning.
Pro-independence forces got a last-minute boost from tennis star Andy Murray, who signaled his support in a tweet to his 2.7 million followers.
A final poll from Ipsos MORI found 47 percent supporting independence, and 53 percent wanting to stay with England. Until recently, polls suggested that as many as one in five voters was undecided, but that number has shrunk dramatically.
An independence supporter voting today in Edinburgh said she’s spent 50 years fighting for this vote. Isabelle Smith is 83 and spent three decades living in the United States. Win or lose, she says, “Scotland will never, ever be the same again.”
And many opponents of independence agreed that the campaign had reinvigorated Scottish democracy.
A Yes vote would trigger 18 months of negotiations between Scottish leaders and London-based politicians on how the two countries would separate their institutions ahead of Scotland’s planned Independence Day of March 24, 2016. It’s still not clear just what currency Scotland would use, or what its status would be in the EU and NATO.
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141-a-08-(Mary Efin, voting in favor of separation, in AP interview)-“time in Scotland”-Scottish voter Mary Efin says even if Scotland doesn’t get independence, there will still be a change. (18 Sep 2014)
< 143-a-08-(Alan Gap, voter, in AP interview)-“feel about it”-Scottish voter Alan Gap says Scotland will never be the same after this vote. (18 Sep 2014) < 139-a-08-(David Wood, voting in favor of separation, in AP interview)-“a globalized world”-Scottish voter David Wood says Scotland has plenty to gain from separation. (18 Sep 2014) < 140-a-03-(Tom Stone, voter opposed to independence, in AP interview)-“the worst cases”-Scottish voter Tom Stone wasn’t persuaded by the ‘Yes” campaign’s rosy predictions. (18 Sep 2014) < APPHOTO LDC103: Scotland’s voters arrive at polling places in Edinburgh, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014. Polls opened across Scotland in a referendum that will decide whether the country leaves its 307-year-old union with England and becomes an independent state.(AP Photo/David Cheskin) (18 Sep 2014) < Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
