It's not over yet

It's not over yet

IT’S bigger than Brexit: Percentage-wise, more Australians have now cast their votes in the $122 million same-sex marriage survey than the Brits did for Brexit.

They thought voting would slow to a trickle, but now, almost three-quarters of Aussies have had their say.

Almost 12 million survey forms have been returned as campaigners from both sides of the debate make a final push urging people to vote.

Almost 16 million forms were sent out in September, and 11.9 million (74.5 per cent) of them have been returned, the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) estimated figures revealed today.

The Brexit return rate was 72.2 per cent.

Form scanning is now under way at the ABS, so today’s figures are based on a count of forms scanned, rather than earlier estimates that were based on the weight of the bulk containers of returned forms waiting to be scanned.

Because of this, the ABS says the number of returned surveys is up more than 300,000 from last week, not the one million today’s result seems to show.

This Friday, October 27, is the recommended deadline for mailing votes to ensure they are received by the ABS by the November 7 closing date.

The last day votes can be received by the ABS is in a fortnight: November 7.

Results of the postal survey will be released on November 15.

ABS deputy Australian statistician and taskforce lead, Jonathan Palmer, said people should send back their completed survey forms in the reply paid envelope right away.

“We’d like to ensure we have the highest participation rate possible for this voluntary survey,” he said.

“We strongly recommend that you post back your completed forms straight away and certainly no later than 27 October to make sure you have your say.”

Many believe the Yes vote will prevail as polls have suggested most Australians support same-sex marriage, and the Yes campaign has welcomed today’s ABS figures.

“This is incredible, it’s such a wonderful sign of how seriously people take this issue and an incredible reflection on the Australian people who have understood the power of this vote,” Equality Campaign director Tiernan Brady said.

The most recent poll showed almost 60 per cent of those who had already voted had ticked Yes.

But this lead has steadily been decreasing over the course of the campaign, with Yes campaigners now focusing on “lazy” Yes voters to have their say.

They worry that about two million people under the age of 35, most of who say they would vote Yes, who have yet to actually cast their vote.

“There is no room for complacency and no reason to think someone else’s vote will win this,” Brady said.

Meanwhile No campaigners dispute the latest polls.

“The reality is that support for gay marriage has never been what the yes campaign has claimed,” a Coalition for Marriage spokesman said.

“There are still millions of Australians who are yet to vote in this survey. We are going for every last one. If they, like so many others, are tired of the bullying tactics of the Yes camp, then they should make sure they vote ‘no’ and return their ballots as soon as possible.”

Proportionally, more Australians have now voted in the postal survey than Americans in the election that saw Donald Trump become president; or Irish who voted in that country’s same-sex marriage referendum, and in the UK’s Brexit..

KEY DATES

• The ABS recommends you post your vote by Friday 27 October.

• Survey forms must be received at the ABS by 6pm (local time) on November 7 to be included in the count.

• Survey results will be published on November 15.

• More information is available at www.marriagesurvey.abs.gov.au