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| Catalans Defy Spain and Push Ahead With Vote on Independence | Catalans Defy Spain and Push Ahead With Vote on Independence |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BARCELONA — Catalans lined up before sunrise on Sunday, massing on rain-slicked streets in towns and cities across the northeastern region, to vote in a banned referendum on independence, even as Spanish security forces entered a handful of sites and attempted to confiscate ballot boxes. | BARCELONA — Catalans lined up before sunrise on Sunday, massing on rain-slicked streets in towns and cities across the northeastern region, to vote in a banned referendum on independence, even as Spanish security forces entered a handful of sites and attempted to confiscate ballot boxes. |
| The turnout by thousands, young and old, was an extraordinary show of determination in the face of a steady drumbeat of threats from the government in Madrid, which considers the referendum unconstitutional and had ordered the police to seal public facilities to prevent voting. | The turnout by thousands, young and old, was an extraordinary show of determination in the face of a steady drumbeat of threats from the government in Madrid, which considers the referendum unconstitutional and had ordered the police to seal public facilities to prevent voting. |
| Officers from the Catalan police force, known as Mossos, watched voters stream in but made no move to interfere with them. Then, shortly after polls opened at 9 a.m., Spanish national forces in riot gear entered several sites, including the high school in northeast Catalonia where the region’s leader, Carles Puigdemont, was expected to vote. | Officers from the Catalan police force, known as Mossos, watched voters stream in but made no move to interfere with them. Then, shortly after polls opened at 9 a.m., Spanish national forces in riot gear entered several sites, including the high school in northeast Catalonia where the region’s leader, Carles Puigdemont, was expected to vote. |
| The Spanish police and Catalan civilians trying to vote scuffled in several places. | |
| Enric Millo, Spain’s representative in Catalonia, said federal forces were forced to confiscate ballot boxes because the Catalan police had failed to stop the voting. | Enric Millo, Spain’s representative in Catalonia, said federal forces were forced to confiscate ballot boxes because the Catalan police had failed to stop the voting. |
| “We’re being forced to do what we didn’t want to do,” he said, in a televised statement. He added that “the rule of law has dismantled the illegal referendum.” | “We’re being forced to do what we didn’t want to do,” he said, in a televised statement. He added that “the rule of law has dismantled the illegal referendum.” |
| Ada Colau, the left-wing mayor of Barcelona, posted a message on Twitter saying that “a cowardly president of the government has inundated our city with police.” | |
| Catalans had used tractors to block police access to some rural municipalities so that the vote could go on. In other places, residents simply removed the doors of polling stations to ensure the police couldn’t bolt them on Sunday. | Catalans had used tractors to block police access to some rural municipalities so that the vote could go on. In other places, residents simply removed the doors of polling stations to ensure the police couldn’t bolt them on Sunday. |
| “This is like D-Day in Normandy, nobody knows what will happen, but everyone has prepared for it,” said Celia Vélez, 21, who spent the night in a high school in Barcelona. | “This is like D-Day in Normandy, nobody knows what will happen, but everyone has prepared for it,” said Celia Vélez, 21, who spent the night in a high school in Barcelona. |
| Catalans are voting not only without backing from Madrid, but also without any sign of support from the European Union or other important players in the international community, and in makeshift conditions, using a disputed census as the voting list. | Catalans are voting not only without backing from Madrid, but also without any sign of support from the European Union or other important players in the international community, and in makeshift conditions, using a disputed census as the voting list. |
| They are relying on privately printed ballots, after millions of them were seized earlier this month by the police. To prevent a shutdown, the Catalan government changed the voting rules an hour before poll stations were due to open on Sunday, allowing Catalans to cast a ballot in any poll station, whether registered there or not. | |
| Mr. Millo, the Spanish’s government’s representative, said the last-minute change turned what was already an illegal Catalan referendum into “a joke.” | |
| A few outsiders had traveled here from other countries to act as observers, saying they wanted to make sure that the police did not use force against voters. | |
| “Every person in the world should have the right to decide their present and future, which of course means the right to vote,” said Andrea Favaro, a lawyer from Venice, who waited inside a polling station early on Sunday. He said he had closely followed a similar situation at home, where the Veneto region held a nonbinding ballot on independence from Italy. | “Every person in the world should have the right to decide their present and future, which of course means the right to vote,” said Andrea Favaro, a lawyer from Venice, who waited inside a polling station early on Sunday. He said he had closely followed a similar situation at home, where the Veneto region held a nonbinding ballot on independence from Italy. |
| The government of Catalonia, an autonomous region in northeastern Spain, passed laws last month to approve the referendum, and Spain’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, warned that Spain would use all possible means to stop it. | The government of Catalonia, an autonomous region in northeastern Spain, passed laws last month to approve the referendum, and Spain’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, warned that Spain would use all possible means to stop it. |
| Recent opinion polls suggest that slightly less than half of Catalonia’s 7.5 million people support separation from Spain, but separatist parties won a majority in the region’s Parliament in 2015 and their influence has grown. | Recent opinion polls suggest that slightly less than half of Catalonia’s 7.5 million people support separation from Spain, but separatist parties won a majority in the region’s Parliament in 2015 and their influence has grown. |
| Many say Catalonia would face a perilous and uncertain future outside Spain, the market for most of the region’s goods, and would not be assured of being readmitted to the European Union. | Many say Catalonia would face a perilous and uncertain future outside Spain, the market for most of the region’s goods, and would not be assured of being readmitted to the European Union. |
| Others complained that the thrust for independence had deepened divisions within the region, whose vibrant economy has attracted families from inside and outside Spain. | Others complained that the thrust for independence had deepened divisions within the region, whose vibrant economy has attracted families from inside and outside Spain. |
| Olga Noheda, a doctor in Centelles, said one of her patients, an older man, began crying in her examination room, and explained that his granddaughter had begun expressing dislike for Spaniards. | Olga Noheda, a doctor in Centelles, said one of her patients, an older man, began crying in her examination room, and explained that his granddaughter had begun expressing dislike for Spaniards. |
| “He was very sad, because he didn’t understand where it all came from,” she said. “He migrated to Catalonia many years ago, from Seville, and he was wondering if his granddaughter was aware that he was a Spaniard.” | “He was very sad, because he didn’t understand where it all came from,” she said. “He migrated to Catalonia many years ago, from Seville, and he was wondering if his granddaughter was aware that he was a Spaniard.” |
| In the days leading up to the vote, school principals had received letters threatening them with sedition charges, which carry a 15-year prison term, if they willingly allowed their buildings to be used as polling stations. | In the days leading up to the vote, school principals had received letters threatening them with sedition charges, which carry a 15-year prison term, if they willingly allowed their buildings to be used as polling stations. |
| City officials were told they would face criminal charges for misusing public funds. In one city, the local newspaper editor discovered he faced a criminal complaint after he printed a list of schools that would be holding votes. | City officials were told they would face criminal charges for misusing public funds. In one city, the local newspaper editor discovered he faced a criminal complaint after he printed a list of schools that would be holding votes. |
| Ten days ago, Spanish police detained a dozen officials of Catalan’s regional government, including its secretary general of economic affairs. | Ten days ago, Spanish police detained a dozen officials of Catalan’s regional government, including its secretary general of economic affairs. |
| In March, the region’s former leader was fined 36,500 euros, nearly $39,000, and banned from holding public office for organizing a similar referendum in defiance of a court order in 2014. | In March, the region’s former leader was fined 36,500 euros, nearly $39,000, and banned from holding public office for organizing a similar referendum in defiance of a court order in 2014. |
| But Sunday’s vote has left the Spanish premier in a bind, forced to choose between detaining large crowds of civilians — images that would be immediately beamed worldwide via social media — or allowing the vote to proceed, an acknowledgment that he could not control the region. | But Sunday’s vote has left the Spanish premier in a bind, forced to choose between detaining large crowds of civilians — images that would be immediately beamed worldwide via social media — or allowing the vote to proceed, an acknowledgment that he could not control the region. |
| One serious vulnerability, for the Spanish government, is that the primary police force in Catalonia is an autonomous Catalan body known as the Mossos d’Esquadra, and its leaders have signaled that they would not use force on voters. | One serious vulnerability, for the Spanish government, is that the primary police force in Catalonia is an autonomous Catalan body known as the Mossos d’Esquadra, and its leaders have signaled that they would not use force on voters. |
| On Sunday morning, at a site in Barcelona, a Mossos officer said his orders were to intervene only if there was a risk of violence. | On Sunday morning, at a site in Barcelona, a Mossos officer said his orders were to intervene only if there was a risk of violence. |
| “If the police leadership really want to get 500 people out of this place, let them come and do it themselves,” said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity according to protocol. “Good luck to them.” | “If the police leadership really want to get 500 people out of this place, let them come and do it themselves,” said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity according to protocol. “Good luck to them.” |
| Throughout the weekend, the polling sites had a festival atmosphere, preparing vast pans of paella and offering instruction in yoga and drumming. | Throughout the weekend, the polling sites had a festival atmosphere, preparing vast pans of paella and offering instruction in yoga and drumming. |
| “Today I am totally amazed, floating, very happy, you cannot believe,” said Carme Calderer Torres-Casana, 66, who had traveled from Minneapolis, where she lives, to her hometown Berga, near the border with France. “Everyone has unforgettable days that mark your life, and today, for me, is one of those days.” | “Today I am totally amazed, floating, very happy, you cannot believe,” said Carme Calderer Torres-Casana, 66, who had traveled from Minneapolis, where she lives, to her hometown Berga, near the border with France. “Everyone has unforgettable days that mark your life, and today, for me, is one of those days.” |