Figures have been released by the Australian Electoral Commission, now the enrolment window for the federal election has closed, revealing around twenty-five per cent of eligible young people did not sign on.

Fighting apathy among young potential voters is one of the greatest challenges for the AEC, whose stats show 20 per cent of eligible voters did not cast their ballot in the last federal election and 25 per cent of young voters failed to enrol for the next poll.

400,000 people in the 18 to 24 age bracket will not vote on September 7th.

"It is clear from the evidence that the trend is for increasing numbers of otherwise eligible electors to remain outside the electoral system," Electoral commissioner Ed Killesteyn said.

The AEC says over a tenth of the population did not vote in the 2010 election. Of those, 1.5 million had not signed up; 900,000 were enrolled but did not make it to the booth and nearly 750,000 opted for a donkey vote.

An expert in electoral law at the University of Melbourne said the fact that one-in-five Australians does not vote has created a democratic deficit, and led to a diminished sense of political involvement.

The Electoral Commission’s launch of online enrolments has helped boost numbers. The AEC says it will continue the fight to elucidate citizens to their democratic duties.