Elections 2024: Your first time voting stories

USA TODAY's Your Vote text messages keep voters informed about the latest election updates and allow subscribers to communicate directly with our journalists about all things politics.

We asked our Your Vote subscribers from across the country what motivated them to vote for the first time.

Editor's note: These responses were submitted via text message and have been edited for clarity.

Ernie, New Jersey: I remember well my first time voting for president. Then, like now, many of us felt like we had an awful set of choices: Ronald Regan and Jimmy Carter. I look back at it differently now, but there were lots of reasons to be disillusioned, post-Watergate, troubled economy, hostage crisis, and more. I felt we needed someone inspirational. Ted Kennedy had a very controversial past but was inspiring. His speech at the Democratic National Convention was magical. I wrote in his name on my ballot and was very proud of that opportunity and responsibility and still am. Looking back at it, I appreciate what first-time voters must feel like now.

Mikaela, California: I was a poll worker before I was eligible to vote, and it really prepared me well for the actual voting process. My 18th birthday missed a presidential election by five months, but I still made it a point to make the municipal primaries. As the daughter of a lapsed Catholic, I tend to compare stepping out of a voting booth to stepping out of the confessional: I feel better for having done it, but I'm not always sure that I'm making a difference.

Christian, Arizona: When I was first able to vote, I volunteered for the McCain campaign, and he was one of the first Senators I voted for, I always looked up to him as a kid, with his military and political history. It was in 2015, I was 20 at the time.

Sandra, Virginia: For years, I was not interested in voting. In high school, teachers taught about the importance of casting your ballot. My mindset was voting was not going to change things, or it would not count. The first time I voted was when Obama ran for president the first time. I received a telephone call to actually be a volunteer at a polling station. I have voted ever since and continue to volunteer at my local precinct.

Mike, South Carolina: When I turned 18 in South Carolina, my dad and I went to the polls to vote in the presidential election. I remember voting for Nixon. It is a special memory of us, father and son, doing our patriotic privilege. My dad is long gone now, but the memory lingers. I felt like a man.

Prep for the polls: Your guide to the 2024 elections

Kathy: My first vote cast for president was 1972. I voted for Democrat George McGovern and have voted Democrat every four years since then. This time will be no exception. When I voted for McGovern, I was voting for the candidate that promised to end the Vietnam conflict and bring our soldiers home. I was hopeful as I cast my ballot, we all know how that went. Watching the returns and realizing that we had another four years of Nixon was disheartening, but little did we all know what great surprises were in store for us. Today, I am hopeful that as we get closer to November, more people will see how important it is that they vote and that their votes weigh in favor of democracy and the rule of law.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Elections 2024: Your first time voting stories