PROGRESS

Australians Approve Same-Sex Marriage in Nonbinding Vote

Parliament is now expected to vote on the measure.

Australians have voted in favor of same-sex marriage in a nonbinding national vote, capping off a two-month campaign that critics had tried but failed to block through the country’s top court. Officials said Wednesday that 62 percent of voters said “yes” to legalizing same-sex marriage, and 38 percent coming out against the measure. The vote, conducted by mail, had an approximately 80 percent response rate. Organized as a survey of national opinion rather than a binding referendum, the measure now paves the way for a vote in parliament. “Millions of Australians have voted yes for fairness, they voted yes for commitment, they voted yes for love,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Wednesday. “Now it is up to us here in the Parliament of Australia to get on with it and get on with the job the Australian people have tasked us to do and get this done this year, before Christmas,” Turnbull said.