Roughly one million Kansan voters gathered at their local polling stations to cast their ballots for the 2016 presidential election on Nov. 8.  Among these voters were 18-year-olds formally voicing their opinions for the first time.

Senior Emily Euler, who turned 18 in late September, voted at the Johnson County Community Center, and said that she was “extremely confused” when she arrived.  

When Euler found the right table, she had her driver’s license scanned and had to verify her birthday and address.  She was given a card, which she took to the computers and used to vote with.  

“[My family] voted for vice presidents since we didn’t like any of the presidents,” Euler said.     

She and almost 60 percent of Kansans ended up checking Donald Trump’s name on the ballot.

Although being confused and slightly nervous, Euler’s first-time voting experience was “a lot of fun.”    

“It’s a great opportunity to be able to vote, and when you’re old enough, it feels like a great honor,” Euler said.  

According to Euler, voting is very important, even with the Electoral College, “because there’s so much else on the ballot that you could vote for,” aside from the President of the Unites States.

Senior Ian Clouston, who turned 18 just a few days before the voting cut-off, described the voting process as “casual.” Clouston cast his ballot at the Prairie Park voting center in Lawrence, where just four other early voters stood ahead of him in line.

Similar to the voting process that Euler underwent, Clouston entered the voting center, showed his identification as instructed, and walked over to a table with blinders on either side, where he checked Hillary Clinton’s name on the ballot.

Afterwards, Clouston walked out of the voting center feeling grateful for the experience which reminded him that it is “a privilege to vote, and we’re lucky to really have it.”

Both Euler and Clouston would advise future voters to be informed on all of the candidates, including the smaller and more local ones, such as the candidates for the state representatives and the senate, not just the presidential candidates.

According to The New York Times election results, roughly 58 percent of registered voters in the U.S. took their opinions to the polls this year.

“Democracy only works if people speak up,” Clouston said. “If you have an opinion and want to be represented happily by the government, you just have to vote.”