The Voice: Everything you need to know before you cast your vote

More than 14,000 Groom constituents have already cast their vote in The Voice referendum during pre-polling. Now with less than five days until the remaining Australians have their say, here’s everything you need to know.

Rhylea Millar and Jordan Philp

3 min read

October 9, 2023 - 3:00PM

Toowoomba Chronicle

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Nearly 15,000 constituents of the Groom electorate have had their say at pre-polling booths for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.

The topic has ignited heated debate throughout recent months and it all came to a head when an argument between Federal MP Garth Hamilton and a member of the public, was caught on film.

Toowoomba campaigner for the Yes vote Neil Riethmuller said the scenes at pre-polling had otherwise been “pretty tame”.

“Our biggest drama has been having corflutes stolen from private property or damaged,” he said.

“Otherwise the campaign is going well – we have a dedicated group of people who have issued 300 corflutes, over 21,000 leaflets and are staffing polling booths across the Toowoomba region.”

The masses turned out to show their support for the 'yes vote' for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament next month, in a Toowoomba march. Picture: Rhylea Millar

Meanwhile the Groom MP who has been an outspoken campaigner for the No campaign since The Voice was first announced, said he had noticed an influx this week in pre-polling voters.

“(I have been) pretty much out there every day since pre-polling opened,” Mr Hamilton said.

“There is a strong support for the No case, it’s often very quiet and not explicit.

“A lot of people will tell me they support the No case, but do so in hushed tones or quietly one-on-one.

“The Yes campaign has had the popular and high-profile support, we’ve seen that with CEOs and celebrities and sports bodies, but I think the No case has had much more of a grassroots feel to it.”

With the exception of pre-poll, the official referendum will be held on Saturday, October 14, with political experts confident Australia will know the result before the day is out.

Groom MP Garth Hamilton backstage at the Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price sold out Rumours International event. Picture: Kevin Farmer

If the majority of Australians choose to vote Yes, the constitution will be amended to appoint an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice body.

That body may make representations to parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth, on matters relating to Indigenous people.

Dependent on the results of the referendum, parliament will then have the ability to make decisions on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

It comes after YouGov released data one day after pre-polling opened, showing 53 per cent of Australians planned to vote No, compared to 38 per cent of Yes voters, while nine per cent were undecided.

“The data clearly shows the contest is much closer in inner metro areas – but the Yes campaign is still struggling to move the needle across the country,” YouGov director of polling and academic research Amir Daftari said.

With Groom and the wider Darling Downs region considered the heartland of the No vote, Mr Hamilton said he was looking forward to the referendum vote being over.

“A focus on national unity has to be at the forefront of the Prime Minister and the government’s actions (after Saturday),” he said.

Jan Gorbacz for the No campaign and Rob Cox for the Yes campaign hand out how-to-vote cards prepoll at the Groom AEC Neil St polling place in the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Despite the data showing favour for the No vote, Mr Riethmuller said he remained confident about the result on Saturday.

“We believe we can overcome that on Saturday because our motivation is very strong and our campaign is anything but negative,” he said.

“We’re all about supporting The Voice for Indigenous people – that’s what carries us through in the struggle for people’s hearts and minds.

“Australians want a fair go for everyone and this is all about taking action to bring Indigenous people up to a level playing field that all other Australians are on.”

In order for the referendum to pass, a national majority must support the change to the constitution, which involves four out of six states returning a majority of Yes votes.

Booths across Queensland will remain open from 8am to 6pm on Saturday.

For all voting location visit thechronicle.com.au or the AEC website.

What is the referendum question?

According to the AEC website, Australians will be asked to vote on the proposed law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

With the option to vote either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ voters will respond to the question – “Do you approve this proposed alteration (to the constitution)?”