A postal vote on whether the Australian
government should extend marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples
closed on Tuesday.
The government is spending $122 million
on surveying Australian attitudes on marriage equality.
According to figures provided by the
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which is conducting the
survey, 12.6 million Australians voted in the poll as of Friday, a
participation rate of 78.5 percent.
The
Guardian on Tuesday revealed results from a poll it conducted
of voters. Sixty-four percent of 1,792 people asked said that they
had ticked the “yes” box.
The ABS will announce final results on
Wednesday, November 15.
While Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull
has promised to allow debate on a marriage equality bill if
Australians favor a change, the postal vote itself can't legalize
same-sex marriage. Turnbull has said he will block such a bill if
it's a “no” vote.
Several celebrities have called on
Australians to vote “yes,” including Chris
Hemsworth, Cate
Blanchett, Sam
Smith, Dolly
Parton, Hugh
Jackman, Liam
Hemsworth, Elton
John and Brandon
Flynn.
Opponents included the Catholic
Church, Milo
Yiannopoulos and Margaret Court, who warned that marriage
equality will lead to the end of Christmas.
(Related: Macklemore,
Mary Lambert perform Same Love at NRL grand final.)