Dogs at polling stations & use pens - social media explodes with EU referendum hashtags

There's #dogsatpollingstations where people are posting cute pictures of their pooches on Twitter. 

William enjoying the rare sunshine on #PollingDay #dogsatpollingstations #iVoted #Bolton pic.twitter.com/jcQyze6uiJ

— Claire (@PHR_Claire) May 5, 2016

Even the cats are getting involved with #CatsAgainstBrexit and #CatsForBrexit.

This whole #CatsForBrexit Vs #CatsAgainstBrexit thing is really getting out of hand. pic.twitter.com/7F6WnAAeuR

— Angry Salmond (@AngrySalmond) June 21, 2016

The run up to the referendum has also seen the rise of the hashtag #usepens.

It urges people to reject the traditional pencils supplied at polling stations and instead use a pen to mark their cross on the voting paper so they can’t be erased after the votes have been cast.

I had no idea #usepens was actually a thing and honestly I can't stop laughing

— Charteta (@Charley2385) June 23, 2016

The Electoral Commission says  there is nothing to stop a voter from using a pen to mark their vote - there is no legal requirement for ballot papers to be marked with a pencil. 

Remember – using a pencil to vote in the #EURef is fine. But you can use your own pen if you wish. Just don’t leave it behind!

— Electoral Commission (@ElectoralCommUK) June 23, 2016

The hashtag #Pencilgate then started trending with people having their say on the pencil/pen furore. 

All this paranoia about taking a pen. Am not messing about. #EUreferendum #PencilGate pic.twitter.com/ht8l1t244W

— Dave Quirk (@daviequirk) June 23, 2016

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