The United Kingdom is counting votes in its critical vote on whether to remain in the European Union or leave it in a "Brexit." So far, it’s looking like a very good night for the "Leave" camp — and a bad night for the European project and the world economy.
As voting closed, "Remain" was doing well in polls and betting markets. But now that actual ballots are being counted, it’s a much closer race with very high stakes. Turnout has been low in areas that were expected to vote strongly in favor of "Remain," including Scotland; heavy rain in London could have driven down voter turnout. And "Leave" has been doing even better than expected in the areas that have reported their votes.
Still, most votes still haven’t been counted, so it could be a very long night. Here are the best ways to follow the voting on this crucial question:
- Watch British coverage: C-SPAN is airing programming from British broadcaster ITV, which is interviewing Members of Parliament and supporters of both sides of the debate, breaking in for results from the different local governments. You can stream it online for free.
- Liveblogs: Politico Europe’s liveblog is combining analysis with a continuously updating tracker of results. Much of the commentary from all outlets tonight has focused on how individual areas are voting and what that might mean for results overall, so the Financial Times, which is mapping the results as they come in, is particularly helpful for Americans for whom place names like "Midlothian" don’t immediately ring any bells. Buzzfeed UK's map also shows the relative population sizes of the areas voting.
- Analysis: Chris Hanretty, an academic at the University of East Anglia, is forecasting possible results. If you want to understand what the votes from individual areas might mean as they come in, this guide from consulting firm APCO Worldwide projected how each area would vote if the national result was perfectly split 50-50, so you can understand how results are tilting.
