A young Territorian who will vote for the first time in the upcoming federal election is encouraging young people to enrol and vote.
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Andre Price-Quintner, who turns 18 on May 8, is keen to cast his vote and have a say in what will be the first 'millennial' federal election, where people born in the year 2000 can vote.
Territorians have until 8 pm on Thursday to enrol to vote before the official close of rolls.
Andre, who is studying legal studies in Year 12 at Darwin High School, says a lot of his peers are politically active and realise the importance of voting once they turn 18, but there are many who don't make the effort to enrol to vote.
Enrol to vote here.
"I realise it is hard for people to put their voice out there but you get to choose who leads the country and who represents you locally in Parliament," Andre said.
"You have to give it a go - it is not that hard to do. It took me less than five minutes to go online and fill in an enrolment form, you put your drivers licence or passport number in and you're done. I got an email to confirm my enrolment the next day."
The 17-year-old said many young people are aware of political issues and discuss them but then don't realise they can make more of a difference by voting.
Andre worked as a casual employee at the Election Service Centre in the 2016 federal election and already has a job as a polling assistant at this year's federal election.
The AFL umpire and keen cricketer said he was fascinated by what it took to conduct a federal election and the logistics behind it all.
AEC NT Manager Geoff Bloom said that despite the improvements as a result of the direct enrolment program, the AEC is aware that many young people are not enrolled to vote.
"The broader 18 - 24 year old age group still represents the largest proportion of those currently not on the electoral roll," Mr Bloom said.
"There are some understandable reasons for a lower than average rate of enrolment among young people as they undergo major life changes such as leaving the family home, starting work or university in another place or undertaking long term overseas travel.
"However, as with all Australians aged 18 years or more - young people are required by law to enrol. The most convenient way to enrol or check your enrolment status is to visit the AEC website using a smart phone, tablet or laptop."
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