16 Young Women On Why They Voted For The First Time Today

It's go time! Election Day is finally here, and the country's future rests on the shoulders of young people. This is the year when kids became fed up with legislators doing nothing about gun reform when their classmates are dying at school. So all year, groups like March for Our Lives have been registering high schoolers and college students to vote in droves.

Early voting spikes suggest that young people could vote in record numbers this year. For example, early and absentee voting by people aged 18 to 30 in Texas and Georgia has increased over 400% according to data collected by TargetSmart, a Democratic firm that tracks voting nationwide. Arizona and Florida saw the number of young people who voted early increase 131% and 217% from 2014, respectively.

Today, we'll see whether all of that momentum and enthusiasm will make a difference and flip the House, as well as win key gubernatorial and state-level races. For the young women ahead, it's a no-brainer: They're off to the polls for the first time ever so they can help turn this country around, many of them registering as soon as they turned 18. Ahead, read about the issues firing up the new generation.