SNP sources were confident their supporters had turned out yesterday as voters queued outside polling stations into the night.

There had been fears that the epidemic would dampen turnout at the Scottish Parliament elections.

But masked men and women waited in socially distanced lines outside polling stations throughout the day in some areas, with waits of up to 30 minutes reported in parts of Glasgow.

A record number of people registered to vote in this election, but the waits were attributed to slower progress due to Covid restrictions and booth washdowns than a rush on the ballot box.

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Party sources said they were “confident” they’d managed to get their vote in parts of the city where turnout had not met levels of support in the past.

A source called the picture “promising”. Another said: “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, I’ve been finding more people have been out to vote early than before.

“The pandemic has changed things. Where before people would go on their way home from work, they’ve now been working from home and they’ve popped out at lunchtime.”

However, there was less data available to parties during the day, with major questions remaining about tactical voting and the regional contest after concerted campaigns on both Yes and No sides of the political divide.

An SNP activist told The National he’d spoken with a number of Labour voters in East Renfrewshire who decided to back the Tories there to block the SNP.

And the Alba Party have targeted SNP supporters in their campaign for list victories. An Alba source told this newspaper: “Tomorrow is looking good. People underestimated the affect the pandemic would have. Because there’s nothing else to do, people have relished the opportunity to get out into the fresh air and out to vote.”

But last night SNP sources said evidence from doorstop conversations suggested that many people have taken on the party’s “both votes SNP message” – and that others may be giving their second votes to the Greens, not Alba.

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One said: “Two or three of my local members I know have voted Green, even though we’ve gone over it with them.

“But we have had to be more disciplined about that message this time and people have paid attention to it.”

This year there are 4,280,785 confirmed voters – the highest electorate ever for a Scottish Parliament election. Almost a quarter of people have chosen to vote by post in another record high. Registration for postal votes had been encouraged to limit the number of people entering polling stations amidst continuing coronavirus concerns.

Yesterday it was confirmed that Scotland has experienced its first seven-day period without any Covid deaths, following a positive test, for as long as eight months.

However, health officials in Moray say there is a “rapidly deteriorating” situation in the north east, where the positive case rate is far higher than in the rest of the country. Voters also faced inclement weather yesterday, with rain and snow potentially affecting turnout.

The National:

Last night the Scottish Greens (above) co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater thanked the “hundreds of new volunteers” who’d powered their party’s campaign, with Slater saying: “I’m grateful to all those who have turned out to vote Scottish Green, and especially to the party staff and volunteers who helped us run a hugely positive campaign.

“I’m proud that our optimistic vision of a Scotland that can lead Europe in tackling the climate emergency motivated so many people to express their support.”

That party is counting on increased support to meet polling predictions that put it on course for a record result. The overall picture won’t emerge until tomorrow, with overnight counting abandoned this time round.

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A Savanta ComRes poll has suggested the SNP will be six seats short of an outright majority in the 129-seat parliament, with Ipsos MORI results unclear about whether Nicola Sturgeon’s side will achieve a clear majority.

That firm said the SNP was “in a very strong position” but “it is not possible to predict with confidence on the basis of these results whether the SNP will definitely win an outright majority of seats”.

An Alba source said: “Nobody can say how this is going to go yet. It’s going to be a long couple of days.”