The Otago University Students' Association is continuing its drive to get students interested in local body elections, as the electoral commission's enrolment campaign formally starts.
An OUSA spokeswoman said there had been close to 900 registrations from previously unenrolled students so far, and the third phase of its Valid Voter campaign would start next semester.
The association has said it would work with ''any candidate who is aligned with our policies'', which would be released later in the year.
Student interest in climate change, te ao Maori (the Maori world), and the future of the city were areas earmarked by OUSA.
Electoral commission figures showed nearly two-thirds of 18- to 25-year-olds in Dunedin - 64% - had enrolled. There were still 7411 people in the 18 to 25 age bracket who had not enrolled to vote.
By comparison, 100% of people aged between 30 and 45 were enrolled. That number dropped slightly for 45-to-60-year-olds, but it was still higher than 96%.
Prof Janine Hayward, of the department of politics, said the youngest age group was the hardest one to connect with - and while the electoral commission reported a certain proportion had registered, that might mean they were eligible to vote for their home council.
Often, rather than being apathetic, students had reasons for why they did not want to vote in the city- such as believing since they would only be there for three years, they should not be making decisions on behalf of other students.
''A lot of students are quite thoughtful about why they won't register to vote in Dunedin.''
In the last local body election, the OUSA managed to boost student enrolment numbers by 2.5% and it was good to see the work OUSA was doing this year as well.
The age group had a tendency not to engage with parties or candidates that did not engage with them, Prof Hayward said.
The best results were achieved when people aged 18 to 25 were encouraged to vote by their own age group.
Proportionally more young people in Dunedin were enrolled than in Auckland, which had a rate of 57.5%, and Christchurch, which stood at 55.71%. Wellington was almost on a par with Dunedin, with about 61.8% enrolled.
