Australia's Same-Sex Marriage Vote: Final Poll Predicts Win

The latest return figures on Australia’s historic same-sex marriage poll show the ‘Yes’ vote on top…
 
Voting has officially closed for Australia’s historic same sex marriage ballot, which has been ongoing as a postal vote since September.
 
While the official numbers won’t be released until Wednesday, November 15, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed that 12.6 million Australians voted in the controversial poll. That’s a return rate of 78.5% of eligible Aussies completing and submitting the non-binding survey.
 
The final count will finally put to rest conflicting polls that have popped up throughout the campaign. Initial polls indicated the Yes vote would ultimately prevail, but last week a University study forecasted a narrow win for No, based on analysis of Twitter data. The latest poll in The Guardian today suggests that 64 per cent of 1,792 respondents said they had ticked the Yes box.
 
What happens next?
 
Counting begins and the Australian Bureau of Statistics will announce the results of the survey on Wednesday, November 15. The Chief Statistician will also give an analysis of the survey’s integrity.
 
It’s important to note that the postal vote itself won’t legalize same-sex marriage in Australia. However, if the vote is a Yes, then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said the necessary law to usher in marriage equality would be passed by Christmas. In fact, the government would move to legislate the decision by December, 7. If the vote is ultimately a No, Mr Turnbull has said no bill will proceed.