Scottish referendum officials investigating electoral fraud News
Scottish referendum officials investigating electoral fraud

[JURIST] Officials at the referendum in Glasgow are investigating ten counts of suspected electoral fraud at polling stations across the city. The suspect votes are thought to be cases of impersonation [BBC report], where people cast a vote pretending to be someone else and the real person shows up later to vote. Each ballot has an individual number attached to it, so officials sorted through the ballots to find the ten suspect votes. The ballots were identified and given to police for further investigation. Spokesperson for the Scottish National Party Stewart Hosie [official website] said the incidence will not change results, but appropriate criminal proceedings will follow the investigation.

On Thursday voters in Scotland voted against independence from the UK [JURIST report] in the country’s first national referendum on the matter. The recent push for a referendum regarding Scotland’s independence has marked a turning point [JURIST report] in the decades-long negotiations between Scotland and the UK. If Scotland became independent it would have had to apply for separate EU membership, according to a report [JURIST report] released in February by HM Treasury [official website], the UK’s economic and finance ministry. Last October British Prime Minister David Cameron and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond [official websites] formally agreed to hold the referendum [JURIST report] regarding the independence of Scotland, potentially ending the union between the two nations in place since the Union with England Act of 1707 [text]. Drafts of the referendum differed considerably in terms and direction from the original [JURIST report], presented in February 2010.