Electoral fraud allegations at Glasgow count

POLICE were last night investigating allegations of electoral fraud at the largest independence referendum count in the country.

Ballots are counted at the Emirates Sports Arena in Glasgow. Picture: Getty

Officials at Glasgow City Council said there had been allegations of at least 10 instances of fraud where people have attempted to pretend to be someone they are not. It is understood the allegations are not confined to one polling station in the city, but involve several.

The suspicious papers were identified soon after the count got underway at the Emirates Arena in the east end of the city at 10pm last night.

However, officials had an indication before the count began that all was not right with some ballot boxes after polling stations reported some voters arriving to vote only to discover their names had already been scored off lists.

Shortly before 1am last night, suspicious ballot papers were removed and placed in clear plastic bags. Police Scotland officers used gloves to remove the papers from the batches of legitimate ballots to prevent contaminating what may be used as evidence.

SEE ALSO:

• The Scotsman will be running a live blog to cover the referendum on Scottish independence, with news, pictures, tweets and much more from around Scotland and further afield as the country goes to the polls.

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