Before heading to school, Maddie Stoen ’17 stopped at Starbucks to redeem her free birthday drink, then headed to vote. She traveled to Walnut Hills Methodist Church, determined to make her voice heard.

Stoen has always thought of voting as one of the most important rights Americans have. In the beginning of the election back in 2015, she was a strong supporter of former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. After Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination and Sanders endorsed her, Stoen transferred her support to Clinton “out of respect.”

Besides that, she identified that her political stances fall in line more with Clinton than any of the Republican candidates, specifically mentioning their nominee Donald Trump. “I’m a strong liberal,” Stoen said. “There wasn’t much of a chance for me to vote Republican.”

After signing in, Stoen was handed her ballot and took a seat at a table divided from individuals sitting next to each other. She decided to vote straight Democrat. The location was relatively quiet, according to Stoen. There were no groups trying to sway votes and there were not any arguments or situations that arose while she was there. Afterwards on her way to school, she passed Jethros on 86th where a group was holding a sign saying, “Honk for Trump.”

Stolen feels a sense of patriotism, and she is happy to be able to contribute to the country through voting. “It’s not so much what’s at stake for me,” she said. “It’s what’s at stake for everyone.”