Anahera Pickering hasn't always been interested in politics but now she talks about it so often her friends react with "oh my God, get over it".
The 19-year-old from Whangarei is a youth advisor for the Electoral Commission - it's her job to encourage young people to enrol and vote in this year's general election.
"Having this job's made me really interested. I'm the type out of my group of friends who always talks about politics or brings up something and they're like 'oh my God, get over it.'"
Ms Pickering voted for the first time on Monday - when advanced voting opened.
She learned about the advisor job through a workshop at Whangarei Youth Space during Youth Week where Melody Hicks from the Electoral Commission visited to promote the youth advocate job.