Scotland Independence: The Polls Close On Referendum

Scotland is one step closer to possibly making history after the polls closed Thursday. Scots had until 10 p.m. (5 p.m. EDT) to vote on a referendum about whether or not the country should be independent. Now, it’s just a matter of counting the votes.

Polls were busy up until the very end, NBC News reported. The final result will not be known until after 5 a.m. Friday local time (12 a.m. EDT). There were hundreds of polling places in 32 councils open for citizens to decide if they should break away from a 307- year union with the United Kingdom.

A record turnout was expected with 4,283,392 people -- or 97 percent of the electorate -- having registered to vote, the BBC wrote. For the first time, 16- and 17-year-olds were eligible to vote.

The vote has been too close to call, although the No campaign, which backs Scotland staying with the U.K., was slightly ahead.

Results from smaller "local authority areas" will probably begin to come in first, followed by cities like Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. Glasgow is the largest council and will be the last to declare which campaign won. More than 485,000 people registered to vote there, the Guardian wrote.

The final result will be revealed at the Royal Highland Centre between 6:30 a.m. and 7.30 a.m. local time, the news site said.

If it is a Yes vote, British Prime Minister David Cameron can convene Parliament immediately or wait until Monday. If it's a No, Cameron’s goal in his first remarks will probably be to try to reconcile Yes and No voters, since the referendum has split Scotland.

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