In the event of a technical failure or any other malfunction with the phone vote, the contingency arrangement is that the winner will be decided on the basis of the votes cast by the studio audience at the NEC, which has been subject to independent verification.

BBC: Sports Personality voting details

Who's going to cast their vote on the basis of Scotland's credit rating?

BBC: Scottish independence: credit where it's due

The last Republican to run on a platform calling for a dollar "on a fully convertible gold basis" was Dwight Eisenhower, who cast the promise aside once in office.

WSJ: Seth Lipsky: The Gold Standard Goes Mainstream

He also said a 1997 case involving the Miami mayor's race, where the entire absentee ballot pool was thrown out because some ballots were fraudulently cast, provides Clark with the legal basis for invalidating all the absentee votes in Seminole County.

CNN: graphic