An unusually intense midterm election in the United States on Tuesday has both parties anticipating extraordinary voter turnout.

We asked our readers who voted for their first time in a U.S. election this year to tell us why they chose the 2018 midterms, and what the experience has meant to them.

Some had just turned 18 this year, like Griffin Lawler of Waldwick, N.J.

“I was excited to vote for the first time because I think America’s youngest voices often go unheard or ignored,” he said.

Immigrants to the United States who had recently become citizens also told us what casting their vote meant.