University of Waikato political science lecturers Dr Olli Hellmann and Justin Phillips have at least three things in common – a love for politics, fresh ideas, and a good brew.

Which is why, when the pair caught wind of the newly launched Brews to Outvote Boomers campaign, it was a 'no brainer” to jump in and support the cause.

'Admittedly, Olli and I are political junkies but being ‘youth adjacent' we also acknowledge that, for most young people, local body elections don't seem that interesting or relevant,” says Justin.

'We think this collaboration between the Tauranga Youth Advisory Group with Mount Brewing Co. is genius and is going the right way to reverse youth voter apathy.”

Brews to Outvote Boomers has a microsite dedicated to make voting more appealing to youth and are hosting ‘Party/Vote', an event at Our Place on Friday 4 October from 5pm, with the aim of increasing voter turnout in the 18-24 demographic by five per cent.

On the same day, as a warm-up to ‘Party/Vote', Justin and Olli will throw open the Tauranga CBD campus lecture theatre doors to present a free lecture,

'Voting under the influence: What happens when you mix alcohol and politics?” Dubbed by Olli as 'not your usual political science lecture”, the pair are gearing up for an energetic presentation that will entertain as well as inform.

There will also be time during the Q&A session to answer any lingering queries about the Single Transferrable Vote (STV).

New to the University and Tauranga this year, Olli and Justin are keen to highlight the fun side of political science to a youth audience, on a topic that also aligns with their research focus.

'One major area of research in political science is figuring out why people vote the way they do,” says Olli.

'Do voters support parties because they like to see certain policies enacted? Are voting choices a reflection of beliefs we hold about the world? Or do we evaluate candidates based on their personalities? The topic of our talk focuses on whether alcohol can sway voters on these questions.”

Doors will open at 3.30pm with the lecture running from 4pm-5pm which, according to Olli: 'Gives the 18+ crowd plenty of time to throw down some free pizza and knowledge to start the political conversation before going down the road to party and vote.”

Registrations are not required but to find out more about both events head to the Outvote Boomers website and University of Waikato – Tauranga Facebook page.

Event: 'Voting under the influence: What happens when you mix alcohol and politics?” – a free lecture by Dr Olli Hellmann and Justin Phillips

Date: Friday 4 October

Time: 4.00pm-5.00pm (doors open at 3.30pm)

Location: University of Waikato – Tauranga CBD campus, Lecture Theatre, Level 2, Durham Street, Tauranga