• ABS announces 12.3 million Australians (77%) have returned their postal survey
• Forms posted this week have a good chance of arriving in time
• Hand-delivered forms accepted at ABS drop-off centres until 4.30pm, 7 November

The Equality Campaign has welcomed the latest estimate of forms received in the marriage equality postal survey and reminded YES voters that forms can be posted this week and still arrive in time.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) announced today that almost 12.3 million Australians or 77% of eligible voters had returned their marriage survey forms by last Friday, an increase of 400,000 from the previous tally.

Tiernan Brady, from the Equality Campaign, welcomed the increase and said survey forms that were posted in the next few days still had a good chance of making the deadline.

“We welcome the high turnout of voters because it shows that Australians are passionate about getting marriage equality done,” Brady said.

“There’s still time to have your voice heard even if you haven’t posted your ballot yet. The deadline isn’t until the 7th of November, so posting your ballot this week means it still can get there.

“It’s not too late. Don’t throw it in the bin, put it in the post.

“Don’t expect marriage equality to get over the line with someone else’s vote. If you want marriage equality to happen you have to make your voice heard,” Tiernan Brady said.

Another option was for people to hand deliver their forms to one of the remaining ABS drop-off centres.

The Equality Campaign’s Shirleene Robinson said, “If you don’t want to risk the postal system, you have the option of going in person to the drop-off centres and hand delivering your form. You can do this right up until 4.30pm on 7 November.

“The centres are located in all the state and territory capitals as well as Geelong and are open between 8.30am and 4.30pm. Their addresses are on the ABS website.”

However, Shirleene Robinson said Victorians should note that the Melbourne drop-off centre would be closed on 7 November for the Melbourne Cup.

The ABS has also advised that Australians using online response forms and the Interactive Voice Response have until 9pm (AEDT) on Tuesday 7th November to register their vote. These are 24-hour, seven-days-a-week services.

“We can only guarantee equality by sending a strong YES result to politicians. And that means everyone needs to get their YES vote back to the ABS in whichever way guarantees its arrival before the final deadline of 6pm, 7 November,” Shirleene Robinson concluded.

Click here for a list of the remaining ABS Drop-off centres: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ygl46he52o8fwar/Drop-off%20centres.pdf?dl=0
Clint McGilvray