Commercials, libel signs and rallies flooded the community as young adults got the opportunity to vote for Texas representatives.

Students said they honor the nation’s fallen heroes by voting for the first time at the midterm elections held on Nov. 6.

“I think voting is important,” senior Daniel Lopez said. “Midterm elections are just as equal as presidential elections.”

Eligible voters take upon a new role in politics as they experience the first of many elections, not knowing what to predict as they head to designated voting locations.

 “I expected someone to come up to me and convince me to vote for someone,” senior Dalton Stevenson said. “But that didn’t happen.”

Many polling locations extended their hours in order to accommodate all registered voters, but many new voters found the process to be painless.

“The whole process only took me about 10 to 15 minutes,” senior Giselle Hernandez said. “I’m really glad I did it since I was the first person in my family to ever vote. It was like I gave them a voice.”

Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Robert “Beto” O’Rourke ran for U.S. Senate of Texas along with third party candidate, Libertarian Neal Dikeman, who only won .8% of the state’s vote.

“My government teacher gave us this website to help us decide,” Hernandez said. “I also looked up information on Google to help further my knowledge.”

In a highly contested battle, Cruz defeated Beto, 50.9%-48.3% respectively

“I wasn’t too happy about the results for the Senate, mostly because my candidate didn’t win,” Lopez said. “I think Beto could have been a more appropriate fit for what Texas needs.”

According to a Gallup poll, roughly 26% of people between the ages 18 and 29 said they were certain to vote in this year’s midterm elections.

“Voting is a responsibility of a citizen—a civic duty,” Stevenson said. “Besides, if I didn’t vote, I wouldn’t be able to complain about the results.”