Australia: Surge In Young Voters Bodes Well For Same-Sex Marriage Vote

A late surge in newly enrolled Aussies could prove problematic for the Coalition MPs, not only for the marriage equality mail-in vote, but for future elections. The nearly 90,000 new voters are primarily younger, and we know the younger generations overwhelmingly support same-sex marriage.

Via the Sydney Morning Herald:

A last-minute surge has seen a record number of Australians enrolled to vote ahead of the upcoming postal survey on same-sex marriage. The Australian Electoral Commission on Friday released figures it described as “extraordinary” that show 90,000 new voters – mostly the young – had joined the roll since the survey was announced on August 8.

The development delighted same-sex marriage advocates but alarmed nervous Coalition MPs, who believe the enlarged youth vote will come back to bite them at the next election. A further 675,000 people had updated their electoral details, and 165,000 transactions were yet to be processed as of Thursday night, the AEC said. In total, almost 1 million Australians had either enrolled for the first time or updated their details.

Same-sex marriage advocates were elated at the news on Friday, following a two-week recruitment drive to ensure young, progressive Australians were correctly enrolled to vote. While the massive rise in new voters has buoyed the “yes” campaign, it has disturbed some Liberals who fear the government has shot itself in the foot by fostering a process that has encouraged young, progressive voters to enrol.

Australian government officials have been criticized for holding the vote-by-mail on gay rights. Not only is the survey expensive (over $122 million) but it's non-binding. The MPs in government could have just voted on the issue and moved on.

Current polls show upwards of 72% of Australians support marriage equality.

You'll get a good laugh from the satire video below on the plebiscite (vote) below.