Amid a tense atmosphere and heavy turnout, Scotland yesterday rejected the prospect of independence in a historic referendum, with “no” trumping “yes” by some 400,000 votes.
But a 10 percent margin of victory has stoked the suspicions of some pro-secession Scots: A dubious viral tweet purporting to show a “yes” ballot in a “no” box is still making the rounds today, as are YouTube videos that supposedly indicate vote-rigging. One such clip appears on the web page for a Change.org petition demanding a mulligan on the referendum.
“Countless evidences of fraud during the recent Scottish Referendum have come to light,” including “clear cut fraud in Glasgow,” writes petition author Kirstie Keatings. “We demand a revote 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.”
The “we” in that sentence comprises 40,000 supporters—and counting. “Because we deserve to be the small strong independent country that westminster won’t allow us to be!!” one noted. Another signer wants “these vote rigging videos investigated to see if there is any truth behind them.”
Come on #Scotland don’t let #Westminster walk all over us again #RiggedVotes #REVOTE #recount #fairscotland #ComeOnScotland #YesScotland
— Ashleigh Stevenson (@KroiAshleigh) September 19, 2014
Will this public pressure force Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland, to arrange a costly, controversial do-over? Almost certainly not. But a disaffected voter can dream.
Photo by Moyan Brenn/Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)
