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After more than a decade of political wrangling and failed legislative attempts, Australia is poised for a vote that could see it join the growing club of nations that allow same-sex marriage.

The decision isn鈥檛 taking place in parliament听鈥� at least not yet 鈥撎齩r even at the ballot box. Whether Australia finally decides the hot-button social issue, which has defied a political resolution for years, may depend on a globally unique arrangement: a postal survey.

From Sept. 12 to Nov. 7, Australians can complete and return forms asking them one question: 鈥淪hould the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?鈥�

Straightforward as that seems, the story behind the survey is anything but. Rather, it鈥檚 an unusual political arrangement听that, to many Down Under, feels out of touch with popular opinion. Polls going back to 2007 show steady majority support for gay marriage. And the process is unfair, gay advocates argue: Why should their rights be put up for public vote听鈥� and an odd one, at that? Unlike formal referenda, the mail survey is voluntary and nonbinding, more of a 鈥渟uggestion鈥� that parliament act, after repeated failures at legislation.

But the depth of political infighting and paralysis that has led to the postal survey also highlights many Australians' concerns about politics in the 鈥淟ucky Country鈥� 鈥撎齛 country often considered 鈥淟ucky鈥� for gay residents, too. Amid economic anxieties听鈥� despite a world record-breaking quarter-century of growth听鈥� some view the so-called 鈥減lebisurvey鈥� as one more example of a government that鈥檚 ineffective and out of touch.

鈥淭he sort of thing you鈥檝e seen in Britain with the vote for Corbyn, you鈥檝e seen in the United States with Trump, in France with Macron, and so on听鈥� it鈥檚 basically here,鈥� says Ian McAllister, a politics professor at Australian National University in Canberra. There is 鈥減opulist disaffection with the major established political parties and a distrust in their ability to deliver economic performance and sound policies.鈥�

Political inertia

The center-right government led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has promised to hold a conscience vote on the issue in parliament if the public votes 鈥測es,鈥� after results are revealed Nov. 15. Seventy percent of Australians who say they are 鈥渃ertain鈥� to return the survey back gay marriage, according to an Ipsos poll, meaning Australia could legislate for same-sex unions before Christmas.

If it does, it would join a club of two dozen countries where gay marriage is legal听鈥� a club many are surprised Australia didn鈥檛 join long before. Sydney鈥檚 annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is one of the world鈥檚 largest pride festivals. In a 2013 Pew Research Center survey, 79 percent of respondents agreed with the question 鈥淪hould society accept homosexuality?鈥� That鈥檚 more than in the United States, Brazil, South Africa, or Argentina, all of which have now legalized gay marriage.

But successive parliaments have voted down change or blocked a vote from even taking place听鈥� reflecting deep divisions within the ruling party, and, critics say, the latest symptom of troubled leadership in an era of declining public trust.

Professor McAllister says the country hasn鈥檛 had a leader with consistently high public approval for a decade, fueling political inertia. 鈥淏y and large, they are not willing to take positions on issues, and that鈥檚 certainly the case with Turnbull and same-sex marriage,鈥� he says.

The voter survey arrangement reflects 鈥渁 pathology within the parties,鈥� says Graeme Orr, a law professor at University of Queensland.

They are 鈥渧ery sensitive to what you might call vocal minorities,鈥� Dr. Orr says of politicians who鈥檝e become reluctant to lead amid falling faith in government: a government that seems repeatedly hamstrung by issues that critics say should not be so controversial, given public support, or so preoccupying. Those range from the marriage 鈥減lebisurvey,鈥� as it has been derisively called, to a commotion over politicians with dual citizenship, which one headline dubbed 鈥渢he world鈥檚 most ridiculous constitutional crisis.鈥�

Mr. Turnbull, an urbane ex-investment banker who supports same-sex marriage, is widely seen as wedded to the public vote out of fear of a back-bench revolt that could cost him the job he himself seized in his own party coup. Since 2007, the country has undergone five changes of prime minister.

When Turnbull successfully challenged predecessor Tony Abbot for leadership of the Liberal Party two years ago, he promised conservative colleagues that Australians would get to weigh in on same-sex marriage 鈥� a plan Mr. Abbot proposed to relieve tensions between intra-party factions by taking the question out of MPs鈥� hands.

After a formal plebiscite proposal was blocked by the Senate last month, the government settled on a postal survey instead, bypassing the need for parliamentary approval. Technically, it is not a ballot, but a collection of statistics about Australians鈥� view of the issue to guide parliament.

Discontent Down Under

For some voters, the complicated听work-around is one more example of a deeply frustrating government. Trust in politicians last year plunged to a 40-year low, according to a study from Australian National University. Only one-quarter of respondents expressed confidence in the government, and four in 10 reported they were 鈥渘ot satisfied鈥� with Australian democracy. A record 23 percent opted for a minor party at last year鈥檚 federal election, turning fringe groups such as the far-right One Nation Party into power players for the first time.

It鈥檚 a discontent that, for many, has roots in the economy. The Land Down Under has enjoyed an unprecedented string of growth, but some feel it has not been shared equally.听Sixty-eight percent of Australians believe the economy is rigged in favor of the rich and powerful, according to an Ipsos poll carried out earlier this year, and more than 70 percent say they 鈥渘eed a strong leader to take the country back鈥� from them. The share of income going to the richest 1 percent of the population has doubled since the 1980s, while wages are growing at the lowest levels in 20 years. Home ownership, a key plank of the 鈥淎ustralian dream,鈥� has plunged to its lowest level since the 1950s.

鈥淎fter 26 years of interrupted economic growth, Australians have a lot to be proud and pleased about,鈥� says Nicholas Reece, a public policy fellow at the University of Melbourne. 听鈥淭hat said, stagnant real wage growth and political instability at the national level has fed a growing pessimism in our politicians and the ability of the system to deliver difficult but necessary reform.鈥�

Lamenting the state of economic policy, Sydney Morning Herald political editor Peter Hartcher recently complained that politics appeared to have devolved into a 鈥減arlor game of polls and perceptions.鈥� It鈥檚 a common criticism of the 鈥減lebisurvey,鈥� viewed as an odd political farce in a nation whose prosperity has bred a sense of navel-gazing complacency.

Indeed, Australia鈥檚 nickname 鈥淭he Lucky Country鈥� was first coined ironically, by the late social critic Donald Horne: a scornful comment on the lack of vision among the ruling elite, made possible by the country鈥檚 many geographical and historical advantages. 鈥淭here is still some truth in that,鈥� Mr. Reece says.

And though many Australians bemoan all the agitation around the marriage vote, it鈥檚 actually one more confirmation of Mr. Horne鈥檚听鈥渓ucky鈥� theory, Orr suggests tongue-in-cheek: only a lucky country could听afford to spend so much time debating听鈥渢he process by which we might begin to consider having a parliamentary vote on same-sex marriage.鈥�