Full list of polling booths for the Voice referendum in Geelong

More than 70 polling places will be open in the Geelong region this Saturday for the Voice to Parliament referendum. SEE THE MAP.

Here’s where to cast your vote on October 14.

Millions of Australians have already cast their vote on whether or not to enshrine an Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament in the constitution.

Across the Geelong region more than 70 polling places will be open to take votes on Saturday, October 14.

All polling places will be open from 8am to 6pm.

Early voting centres are also open in Corio, North Geelong, Torquay, Lara, Ocean Grove and Clifton Springs and will allow voters to cast an early vote up until Friday evening.

Voters are being asked to answer the question on ballet papers with a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

The answer will need to be written clearly, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) discourage answering with a tick, a cross or a word written in another language.

It comes as Geelong councillor Sarah Hathway claimed credit in a social media post for ripping down vote no posters at a drive-through coffee outlet last week.

“This morning going through drive through for coffee I spotted a ‘vote no’ sticker on one of the bollards. In prime place for every car to see.” Ms Hathway wrote.

“So I got my coffee, stopped the car and tore it off.”

Ms Hathway accused “racists, cookers or fascists” of “using this referendum as a opportunity to promote hate speech and recruit to their own ranks” and said she stood in “solidarity with Lidia Thorpe in the face of death threats from these same forces”.

The Geelong Advertiser approached Ms Hathway for comment.

Ms Hathway was one of more than 50 Geelong leaders asked by the Geelong Advertiser how they would be voting in the referendum.

It comes as support for an Indigenous Voice has dropped to a new low, with support for the yes vote falling to 34 per cent, compared to 58 per cent intending to vote no.

Eight per cent of voters were undecided.

Support for the Albanese government also dropped.

The Yes campaign, lead by prime minister Anthony Albanese and the federal government, has argued a Voice would help unify the country and make a tangible difference in the lives of First Nations peoples.

The Yes camp argues the Voice is advisory only, and would bring Australia in line with other Western nations such as Canada and New Zealand in recognising First Nations people in their constitutions.

The No campaign argues Australians should vote against an Indigenous Voice because there is a lack of detail, it’s legally risky and has too many unknowns.

Rather than being unifying, some in the No camp argue the Voice be divisive, expensive and have too much power.

Locally, politicians Sarah Henderson and Bev McArthur and Surf Coast councillor Paul Barker intend to vote No.

Wadawurrung urge yes vote as early voting in full swing

Endorsing the yes vote from left; Liam Murphy (Wadawurrung CEO), Aunty Mary Shuttleworth, Greg Robinson (Wadawurrung co-chair) Corrina Eccles, Uncle Norm Eccles, Koby Phillips and Raylene Morrison

Early voting in the referendum on an Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament is in full swing across Geelong, as one of the region’s most prominent First Nations organisations has its say.

As voters begin heading to polling booths, Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation released its first statement about the Voice to coincide with the start of early voting, calling on a “resounding Yes” vote.

Polling booths in Corio, North Geelong and Torquay opened on Monday, while voters can head to the polls in Lara and Ocean Grove from Saturday, and Clifton Springs opens Monday, October 9.

It comes as both campaigns have intensified as referendum date of October 14 looms, including leaders across the spectrum.

Deputy-prime minister and Corio MP, Richard Marles, has campaigned for the Yes campaign, while former-Prime Minister Tony Abbott headlined a No campaign event at Geelong West Town Hall on September 26.

Wadawurrung’s statement from its board of directors, released this week, called the political debate surrounding the Voice “divisive, fear-based and damaging to First Peoples”.

“The Voice itself is not a divisive issue. In fact, far from it, the Voice is an opportunity to unite,” the statement read.

“People in our broader community are looking to Wadawurrung to provide guidance on this issue and we feel it’s important that we show leadership and strength in this.”

Speaking to the Geelong Advertiser about the statement, Wadawurrung woman Corrina Eccles said it had taken time to develop.

“We went through a process of communication,” Ms Eccles said, noting the reflects a majority view of Wadawurrung members.

“We all still have our own views, at no stage has Wadawurrung not allowed people their own personal views.”

Ms Eccles, a Yes voter, has been travelling across the region to assist Yes campaign events, including a walk across Barwon Heads Bridge, with Corangamite MP Libby Coker.

“My Dhurrung Dhurrung, my heart, was full with the Barwon Heads event,” she said.

“Only 50 people registered online and we had 2,500 people turn up.”

Opponents to the Voice had criticised it as a step backwards, however for Ms Eccles, the Voice would be an essential step in rebuilding trust, and fostering a “society of acceptance”.

“It’s just a seat of advice at a table that has been a long time coming,” she said.

“We (First Nations people) carry the trauma from the generations before us.

“As First Nations people, it’s like you’re out there in the big Warri, sea country … you’re exhausted and you’re drowning, your legs are going, your arms are going; you’re stuck out there in that big ocean.”

“We just need to move forward and be pulled out of that ocean and put those footprints back on our country.

“I walk as a proud Wadawurrung woman with a voice. My grandmother wasn’t allowed that, I know my granddaughter’s voice will be even stronger.”

Originally published as Full list of polling booths for the Voice referendum in Geelong