DUBLIN — Ireland's voters were deciding Friday whether to legalize gay marriage in this once-staunchly Catholic land in what the government's equality minister called "a referendum like no other."
Opinion polls throughout the two-month campaign suggest the government-backed amendment favoring gay marriage should be approved by a majority of voters when results are announced Saturday. But gay rights activists expressed caution, based on previous votes when anti-government sentiment and low turnout produced surprise referendum rejections.
Electoral officers reported stronger-than-usual voter turnout at polling stations in schools, church halls and pubs across this nation of 3.2 million registered voters. Some lines built up outside stations before the 7 a.m. opening. On social media, voters traveling in from as far away as Australia posted their progress and voting intentions. Most were saying "yes."
Voters leaving one polling station in northeast Dublin, a Catholic parish hall, demonstrated a clear generation gap when asked how they had voted. Those under 40 were solidly "yes," older voters much more likely to have voted "no."
Read Saturday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.