The voting booths are open, but we won’t know until tomorrow whether the Brits have chosen to remain with the European Union or Brexit their way to independence and uncertainty. Polls are still too close to call (though a few of the latest last-minute predictions are favoring Remain). Could flooding at some stations make a difference one way or another? Walking through Chelsea and Piccadilly Circus on this rainy Thursday morning, the “I’m In!” stickers definitely seemed more common, though that is to be expected since it is the big city, and, besides, most decided not to display their votes on their chests either way. With a few exceptions, Londoners are private about their preferences. “We’ve had enough arguments already,” explained one.

The free city papers passed out to commuters outside tube stations have taken advantage of the situation with cheesy Brexit-themed front-page advertisements. (“It’s Decision Time: Make the Right Choice…trade with ETX Capital!”) Major newspapers, like The Times and Financial Times, have taken a more measured approach with less partisan headlines—at least on the covers. Things like “The Day of Reckoning” and “Tensions mount…” However, The Sun, owned by Rupert Murdoch, declared today “Independence Day” and urged its readers to “BeLeave” in Britain: “Today you can make history—by winning Britain’s independence from the crushing might of the Brussels machine.” Meanwhile, The Guardian, more subtly, asked, “Who do we want to Be?” with a headline underneath titling things toward Remain: “Last-ditch push to stay in Europe.” (The FT has a fun little piece comparing it all to Henry VIII’s split with Rome in 1534. Kind of a stretch but an entertaining one for history buffs.)

There are, of course, many questions to come. If the Leave campaign wins, could the government defy the vote? (“It could happen!” a possibly paranoid Leave protester screams at me as I exit the tube.) Will the economic downside cause the loss of 100,000 jobs? And what will possibly happen with Scotland?! If it fails to pass, will waves of immigrants from Turkey come flooding into the UK like in the nightmarish, and widely criticized, “Breaking Point” poster?

No one knows. But a few things are for certain: There will be no more blue-and-red Leave and Remain stickers everywhere. There will be no more brutal debates on the BBC. Nervous types will stop trying to cash in sterling ahead of the referendum. We'll have no more surreal scenes of grey-haired men fighting it out on boats in the Thames like politically obsessed pirates. No more back and forth about whether the EU costs the UK £350 million or £160 million or maybe something in between. And thank the heavens: No more celebrity tweets! (Victoria Beckham vs. Joan Collins: who's on your team?)

There will be no more reports of the Queen demanding her dinner guests provide her “three good reasons to remain in Europe!” No more backlash about whether or not that was reported accurately.

queen for brexit
2Gallery

queen for brexit

But most of all, let’s hope no other members of Parliament will be murdered in the street by men who call themselves "death to traitors, freedom for Britain."

Is this a monumental shift in British history or just a grand pissing match between rivals Boris Johnson and David Cameron? Hey, if we're honest, it could be both. And hasn't it just been exhausting? Watching all these leaders state their cases publicly, over and over and over? You couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor men and women as they pleaded to millennials in the Buzzfeed/Facebook EU Town Hall meetings. (The youngsters pressed little buttons for ❤️ or ???? after each speech!) Even though Cameron clearly seemed the most pained throughout it all--perhaps because he's actually responsible for all this by just assuming the British people would undoubtedly choose to stay--Nicola Sturgeon probably came across as the most sympathetic. On a personal level, she just seemed the nicest. Nigel Farage, a little less so. (Whatever your politics, it's hard to like anyone who insults so gleefully! And man, that “Breaking Point” poster...)

Either way the vote goes, the country will still be deeply divided over immigration, the economy and Britain’s place in the world. If anything, a very close referendum—and by all accounts, this will be very close—can make things more divisive. Just look at Scotland after the failed 2014 independence vote! Once people are forced to declare, those tribal feelings tend to stick around. But hey, at least they'll be done with these campaigns. For that, the general consensus here in London, as far as I can tell, is “Thank god!” It has been, as they would say, quite tiresome. That’s one thing on which both sides can agree.

And soon, the results!

UPDATE, 5AM: The Leave campaign wins! Britain has voted to leave the 28-nation European Union!