Jack Tame: Millennials - just get out and vote

More than 200,000 eligible voters under the age of 30 didn't vote in the last election. Photo / Natalie Slade

I wanted to know what the millennials think. Not the politicised Art History majors, or the young Nats, or even the people commenting and sharing Tom Sainsbury's brilliant political satire.

I wanted to hear from someone who might still be feeling "meh".

I texted Brad. I'm not sure there's any such thing as a "typical" millennial voter, but at 27, Brad might be the least politically engaged young voter I know.

It's not to say he isn't bright. He has a big job at a corporate doing something very complicated with computers, but you won't find him canvassing for the Greens or tweeting about public transport.

Not one for the 6pm bulletins or breaking news updates on his phone, when Brad was on a coding project he famously took more than a week to realise John Key had resigned as Prime Minister.

More than 200,000 eligible voters under the age of 30 didn't vote in the last election. Under-30s had the lowest turnout of any block. With the polls tight, there are sufficient millennials to decide this year's election. But I worry they won't.

On Thursday, I hosted a debate on youth issues, and for all the candidates' optimism about engagement and civics education, I worry young voters won't be exercised sufficiently next weekend.

I can't tell you exactly why, or how to fix it. But to make a "youth-quake" comparison with the UK, it took a massive shock to get young voters to the polls. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's surge in the June election was inspired by what young Brits lost in the Brexit vote.

"Will you vote in this election?"

Brad answered right away: "No."

"Why?" "I'm only concerned about house prices and I'm not convinced anyone knows how to make them cheaper."

Just six days to convince him otherwise.

Brad is one of the hundreds of thousands of millennials eligible to vote on Saturday - or in the advance voting.

But if the delicious twists and turns of this campaign, a young leader of a major party, and the closeness of the polls, haven't sufficiently energised a 27-year-old who wants to buy a house, what will? Brad will probably only read this if I send him the link. But if any young voters stumble across these words and feel like he does, I hope they'll heed this message.

You might be apathetic. The system isn't great.

But collectively, we're powerful.

Please, for every young person who wants a decent home, a decent income, a decent planet, decent mental health support and a decent future: VOTE.

• Jack Tame is on NewstalkZB Saturdays, 9-noon.