High school students vote for the first time, casting early ballots for Illinois primary election

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Seniors from Pritzker College Prep, a public charter high school in the Hermosa neighborhood, voted in their first ever election today by casting early ballots for the Illinois primary.

"Over the past few weeks, we've registered 251 students at our school, which was 89 percent of our eligible students," said journalism teacher Katie Curtin.

Around 50 of those students met at Harold Washington Library in the Loop to do some final research on each candidate's platform. They then marched across downtown to the Loop Super Site polling place at the corner of Clark and Lake Streets.

"I'm pretty nervous, but I'm actually excited because I feel I actually get to vote and make a difference in the upcoming election," said senior Raquel Valentin.

Pritzker is part of the larger Noble Network Charter Schools, which registered over 2,100 students across their 18 Chicago campuses.