Majority of Australians have voted ‘Yes’ to same-sex marriage, poll shows

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A new poll suggests that the majority of Australians have voted in favour of marriage equality.

The country is currently taking part in a voluntary postal vote on the issue of marriage equality, and while the result won’t be binding, it will give politicians a better idea of what the public wants when they perform a vote in parliament.

A previous survey conducted in August suggested that 63% of Australians intended to vote ‘Yes’ to equality, and the results of a new poll released today appear to confirm those predictions.

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Conducted by ReachTEL and Sky News Australia, the poll found that 64.3% of those surveyed have already returned their ballot papers with a ‘Yes’ vote, while a further 6% are still planning to vote ‘Yes’.

On the other side of the debate, the poll suggests only 15.5% have returned their ballots with a ‘No’ vote, while a further 5.7% said they were still planning to vote ‘No’.

5.7% said they would not vote either way, and 2.8% said they hadn’t received a ballot.

With a sample size of 5,000, the survey is the largest since the campaign began.

The Equality Campaign also released the results of their own poll today, which suggests that 77% of enrolled Australians have already returned their ballot papers, roughly lining up with Sky News’ survey.

“We’re delighted with the turnout, it’s a real sign people understand the power of their vote,” said Tiernan Brady, the Equality Campaign’s executive director.

“People understand the power of their vote and [the poll] reflects what we’ve been hearing on the doors and on phone calls… that the vast majority of people have voted.

“The vast majority of people see this is not a normal political question. They understand that this is about real people’s lives, real people’s dignity.”

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However, he also urged people who haven’t returned their ballots to make sure they do before the 7 November deadline, or they “just won’t count”.

“We’ve always wanted a high turnout because we’ve always believed the Australian people are for marriage equality and to treat lesbian and gay people equally in law,” he added.

The official results of the survey will be announced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on 15 November.

3 Comments

Oleg Andre December 31, 2017 - 9:30 pm

I have been in the relationship with my partner for more than ten years. Honestly, I’m tired of the fact that my legal and civil rights are being discussed by people who tell me that my sexual orientation is a choice and that I will go to hell for what I can not control.

Alex January 6, 2018 - 2:58 pm

In many countries same-sex marriage is strictly forbidden due to many reasons, it’s a very complicated question, of course. I think people have the right to choose their own path in life.

Alex Dudarew February 1, 2018 - 1:03 am

More and more countries are voting for the adoption of same-sex marriages. I believe that this is not bad or good, it just has to be so. A couple of decades it is recognized by all countries.

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