In last year's presidential election, just more than 50 percent of registered voters in Marion County actually cast votes.

Among them were 1,050 area 18-year-olds, including Doug Singleton and Matt Holbreich from North Central High School.

Both teens have been involved in government-related activities, such as Indiana Boys State, and draw their political influences from a variety of sources. For Holbreich, his teachers, parents, and magazines and journals have influenced his political views.

Singleton, on the other hand, sought guidance from his family.

"Definitely my parents have a large influence on my political views, just because everything I ever learned about politics is from them or my older sister," he said.

"My family is extremely political. My views are the same as my parents'," he added.

Although many young people are criticized for being uninformed or apathetic about politics, these two teens seem comfortable with the candidates and their stance on the issues.

"I was pretty well informed on almost all issues that I thought were important and made a very educated vote, I feel," said Holbreich. While he doesn't identify with a party, Holbreich says he is "probably more conservative than liberal, but I voted for Al Gore. I just felt that most of his views matched mine."

Singleton, a young Republican, said of his candidate, George W. Bush, "I thought he would do better as a president just because Republicans were in control, so he is going to get a lot more support from the Congress. And I think since the economy is going downhill, I think he has better plans for the economy than Al Gore did."

Knowing the issues is one thing, but figuring out the voting booth can be a task in itself. The problems that arose during the 2000 election have highlighted this point.

"There is an overwhelming number of things in (the voting booth)," Singleton said. "You kind of worry about, 'Were you voting for everything?' You kind of take it sequentially and go from left to right."

Holbreich said there is the potential for error in the voting booth but not if you're careful.

"I voted before school, so the line wasn't long at all. It was really short and simple. You just pulled a lever," he said.

In 1971, the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18. But are people that age really mature enough to participate in elections?

"I definitely think that it is old enough to vote, because I think if anything it should be lower," said Singleton. "At 18 years old, a lot of kids have some sort of employment, and so (they) are already paying taxes. That is the biggest thing."

Despite the government's involvement in our lives, many people still suffer from voter apathy or simply don't care about politics.

"I agree it is a problem that a lot of people don't vote," said Holbreich. "But in America, it doesn't really matter if people vote, because a lot of people could be satisfied with what is going on and there would be no need to vote."

Singleton agrees that voter apathy is a problem but thinks that a solution would be hard to come by. "I don't know if you can do anything to fix it. If people don't understand that their votes count, I don't know how you can change that."

In the 1972 general election, 50 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted, but in 1996 only 32 percent of them voted, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

These two teens won't contribute to this downward trend in voter turnout, and their peers also seem to be on the right track. Holbreich said his reason for voting stems from "this innate patriotism that I have that I just love the country so much that I thought it was my obligation. I felt like voting made me part of America, which is a great country."

Singleton, whose government class regularly discussed political issues, said he and the other students were eager to begin voting. "We were pretty psyched about going out and voting. I don't know anybody who didn't."

Regardless of their personal reasons for going to the polls, both teens believe voting is a vital part of the American political system. They will continue to vote in future elections.

As Singleton said, "It is a duty, and it makes a difference. I don't have a lot of respect for people who complain about politics, but then they don't vote."

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Katie Qualkinbush, 14.

REPORTERS: Lindsey Burns, 12; Joey Gaines, 11.