Scottish Referendum
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| Date | 18 September 2014 |
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The Scottish Referendum took place on Thursday 18 September 2014 on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom.[1] The referendum question was:
- "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No".[2]
The "No" side won with 2,001,926 (55.3%) voting against independence and 1,617,989 (44.7%) voting in favour. The turnout of 84.6% was the highest recorded for an election or referendum in the United Kingdom since the January 1910 general election, which was held before the introduction of universal suffrage.
Contents
Background
The Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013 set out the arrangements for the referendum and was passed by the Scottish Parliament in November 2013, following an agreement between the devolved Scottish government and the UK government. The independence proposal required a simple majority to pass. All European Union (EU) or Commonwealth citizens residing in Scotland age 16 or over could vote, with some exceptions, which produced a total electorate of almost 4,300,000 people. This was the first time that the electoral franchise was extended to include 16 and 17 year-olds in Scotland.
Yes Scotland was the main campaign group for independence, while Better Together was the main campaign group in favour of maintaining the union. Many other campaign groups, political parties, businesses, newspapers, and prominent individuals were also involved. Prominent issues raised during the referendum included what currency an independent Scotland would use, public expenditure, EU membership, and North Sea oil. An exit poll revealed that retention of the pound sterling was the deciding factor for those who voted No, while "disaffection with Westminster politics" was the deciding factor for those who voted Yes.
Electoral supervision
The Electoral Commission was responsible for overseeing the Scottish Referendum, "with the exception of the conduct of the poll and announcement of the result, and the giving of grants. In its role of regulating the campaign and campaign spending, the Electoral Commission will report to the Scottish Parliament. (...) The poll and count will be managed in the same way as [local] elections, by local returning officers (...) and directed by a Chief Counting Officer".[3]
Voting process
Voting for the referendum commenced on 27 August 2014, with the receipt of ballots by postal voters. As of 15 August, 680,235 eligible voters had registered for postal voting, a 20% increase compared with March 2014.[4]
During the postal vote phase, Police Scotland arrested a man from Glasgow on suspicion of selling his vote on eBay.[5]
The registration deadline for the Scottish Referendum voters was 2 September 2014. Several councils reported the processing of "unprecedented" numbers of new registrations, while others received "tens of thousands" of applications in the final week.[6]
Riggerendum
A petition demanding the Scottish Referendum be re-held "because it was rigged" (Riggerendum) garnered 70,000 signatures in less than 24 hours. The petition stated:
- "Countless evidences of fraud during the Scottish Referendum have come to light, including two counts of votes being moved in bulk to a 'No' pile, 'Yes' votes clearly being seen in 'No' piles, and strange occurrences with dual fire alarms, and clear-cut fraud in Glasgow.
- "We demand a re-vote be taken of said referendum, where each vote shall be counted by two individuals, one of whom should be an international impartial party without a stake in the vote."[7]
Related Document
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:Tory in Charge of Entire Scottish Council Election Count | Article | 29 April 2017 | Mel Kelly | Being a software engineer myself, my first thought was - could this be easily used to print replacement postal votes with the voters' ID and their signature, changing our vote for a different candidate while binning your postal vote? I had to conclude yes it could. |
References
- ↑ "Scottish independence: Referendum to be held on 18 September, 2014"
- ↑ "Scottish independence referendum – GOV.UK"
- ↑ "Agreement between the United Kingdom Government and the Scottish Government on a referendum on independence for Scotland"
- ↑ "Scottish Independence: The popular rise of postal voting"
- ↑ "Scottish independence: Man arrested after votes 'for sale' on eBay"
- ↑ "Scottish independence: Thousands in late rush to register to vote"
- ↑ "Scottish Independence: 70,000 Nationalists Demand Referendum be Re-Held After Vote Rigging Claims"
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