Three in every four Australians eligible to participate in the marriage law survey have already returned their form, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has said.
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An ABS estimate today suggested 11.9 million surveys have been received. About 16 million Australians were sent surveys in early September.
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The estimate is more than one million surveys more than the last weekly estimate. But the new figure is also more accurate, based on scanned survey numbers and not the weight of the bulk containers of returned forms.
The ABS estimates it received an additional 300,000 forms last week.
About 800,000 votes were returned during each of the two weeks before last.
Official ‘yes’ campaign director Tiernan Brady suggested Australians wanted the issue of marriage equality dealth with swiftly.
“We hope that a strong YES result will encourage Parliament to ensure marriage equality is a reality in Australia by Christmas,” Mr Brady said.
But he urged Australians to return their surveys before this Friday, the latest recommended postal date to ensure forms were counted.
Survey collection officially concludes on November 7 and results will be released on November 15.
Mark Kearney
Journalist. Traveller. Pop culture connoisseur. Mark is passionate about education, the arts and social justice, especially stories affecting the LGBTI community.
Journalist. Traveller. Pop culture connoisseur. Mark is passionate about education, the arts and social justice, especially stories affecting the LGBTI community.
