Haru Fergus is one of thousands of young Australians who will be voting for the first time this year.
The 18-year-old student from Ulverstone in Tasmania's north-west was a few weeks too young to vote in the 2021 state election but registered anyway to ensure they could participate in the next poll.
"You don't get a say in federal politics if you don't vote," they said.
While Haru's voice will be heard, thousands of other Tasmanians may get no say in next month's federal election.
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) estimates about 10,000 Tasmanians are not enrolled to vote, many because they have recently turned 18 and have not yet registered.
Nationally, only 57.7 per cent of 18-year-olds are enrolled and the AEC expects similar numbers in Tasmania.
New voters have until 8pm on Monday, April 18 to register and there will be no extension to compensate for the Easter holiday period.
AEC state manager Hannah Brown said legislation requires the electoral roll to be closed seven days after an election is called.
At 97.7 per cent, Tasmania has the second-highest level of enrolment in the country but, given that electorates such as Bass are held by razor-thin margins of a few hundred votes, the unenrolled masses could impact the outcome of this election.
Enrolment 'easy' but some see it as a chore
Haru said many young people were very engaged with politics but some may not enrol to vote because they saw the process as "a chore".
"It's not that hard, but you don't know that till you start," they said.
New voters can register online using a passport or driver's licence as identification.
People without those documents can enrol in person at an electoral branch if they bring an enrolled voter who can vouch for their identity, such as a family member.
But it remains unclear whether those offices will be open during the Easter long weekend, which could make it hard for people without internet access, transport or a driver's licence to enrol at such short notice.
Independents target first-time voters
Getting eligible voters onto the electoral roll as soon as possible has been a key focus for independent political network The Local Party.
Senate candidate Leanne Minshull said there was a "sizeable proportion" of young people now old enough to vote and recent mainland migrants voting in Tasmania for the first time.
"That will have a big impact on the election and so it should," she said.
"Young people, in particular, are going to be affected by climate change, they are really going to be living with the effects of climate change and they are also the cohort of voters who, unlike myself at 57, had a relatively easy pathway to home ownership and secure work."
Ms Minshull believed that cohort could benefit environmentally-focused parties like her own but she wanted all people "young and old to get on the roll".
"Of course, we want to get some of our great candidates into parliament," she said.
"But honestly, the thing that I'm most interested in is making our democracy stronger and we can't have a stronger democracy if we don't have everybody participating."
