TRANSCRIPT:
For millions of Australians, the Voice vote is the first referendum they've ever taken part in.
The nation hasn't held one since 1999 - but the presence of BBQs outside polling booths may well prove to be a familiar and reassuring sight.
High profile voters like New South Wales Premier Chris Minns have made it clear which position they support.
"I'm encouraging people - there's still a few hours to go - to think about your vote in the coming hours. And cast that vote for change. Cast that yes positive vote for change. You'll feel better about yourself as you go about your day; you'll feel better about the country."
Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has also made a last minute plea for the yes case.
"Today is a truly historic day in this country... There are one in five voters that are still to make up their mind, and they will vote today. And I want those people to vote yes. Yes for a positive future for this country, yes for a unified country going forward, and most importantly, yes to better outcomes for First Nations people. This is truly important for us as a nation."
But independent senator Lidia Thorpe hopes the no vote will succeed.
She says the referendum's impact has been overwhelmingly negative and hurtful.
"What a dismal day we have today, where 97 percent of this country decide the fate of 3 percent of my people... This referendum has done nothing but hurt people, divide communities, divide families... This country is not ready to decide on our destiny. It never has been."
Opposition Indigenous Australians spokesperson Jacinta Price has also encouraged voters to reject the voice.
She has told Channel 7 she believes the no vote will be in the majority.
"I'm quietly confident I wouldn't want to take anything for granted whatsoever. You know, there's still a push to make sure that Australians are voting toward the no vote, as opposed to, you know, supporting this detail this empty voice proposal in changing our Constitution."
The full scale of the logistics of the referendum has been confirmed by the Australian Electoral Commission.
Nearly six million early votes have already been cast.
50,000 voters have had their say overseas, 120,000 in mobile vote centres across Australia, and another 128,000 through remote voting service teams.
AEC Commissioner Tom Rogers says the vote has been proceeding so far in a very orderly fashion.
"That is running really smoothly, but there are always issues. We've had some disappointing activities particularly outside the polling place between some of the campaigners. Some of our voters being hassled by some of the campaigners. I stress: very minor - but it's nevertheless unfortunate."
But election officials appear unwilling to take any chances, with extra measures put into place outside some voting centres to ensure safety.
In the Northern Territory, AEC senior engagement officer Neville Khan has told NITV that security has been hired.
"It is a little different. It is something that the agency looks at doing whenever there is an identified polling venue that might need that extra security. So yeah, we'll do it whenever we need to."
Tom Rogers says people are already asking when the referendum result will be known.
He says there's no easy answer.
"The answer is we don't know. If there is a very large margin we'll know the results of that this evening. If there's not, we've had something like two million postal vote applications. Those votes have to come back before we can count them. So if it's a close result, we may not know tonight."
