With hopes of attending pharmacy school, 17-year-old Sarah Janiga has closely studied the candidates' health care plans. (Watch the video.)

Abdullah Malik, 17, of Crown Point, thinks U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton might be too polarizing to be the Democratic nominee.

For 18-year-old Molly Bucci, also of Crown Point, the reasons for choosing U.S. Sen. Barack Obama are less concrete.

"(Clinton) rubs me the wrong way whenever I hear her speak," Bucci said. "I just agree more with what he says."

They are among the region teens joining the voting ranks, motivated by a desire to incite change, and to fix the same problems noted by their elder voting brethren.

Nineteen-year-old Steven LaBuda of Highland said he's thrilled to have his first vote cast in a decisive primary.

"Indiana has always seemed to be overlooked in the presidential election," LaBuda said. "I am excited that my first time voting, Indiana actually will make a big difference in the result."

Hammond resident Lisa Guillen "couldn't be more excited about this election and my chance to make an actual difference," she said. The 18-year-old Morton High School student, who is backing Obama, admitted the Democratic candidates hold similar positions on some issues.

But, Guillen said, "I feel like I can trust him more."

Obama's popularity is one force behind the surge of interest in young voters, said Marie Eisenstein, assistant professor of political science at Indiana University Northwest.

Taylor Hood, an 18-year-old student at Roosevelt High School in Gary, already logged an early vote for Obama.

"I felt special," Hood said. "It was exhilarating, being able to vote, especially being able to vote this time."

But Clinton, Eisenstein noted, is garnering traditional, working-class support, which is the typical voter base in Northwest Indiana.

LaBuda is backing Clinton because of her long political experience and for her plans to help lower the cost of gas, he said.

Gas prices and other topics influencing young region voters reflect those vocalized by older, more experienced voters, Eisenstein said.

"Their concerns mirror what we see in the rest of the country, from health care to the economy, to the war in Iraq," Eisenstein said. "It's not like they sit down and say, 'OK, what are we going to do about college tuition?'"

Hood and Sarah Shaaban, an 18-year-old Crown Point High School senior, say Obama's war opposition make him a desirable candidate.

But not all young voters plan on pulling a lever for Obama or Clinton.

Kevin Kras, of Hobart, said his May 6 vote will go to Libertarian Party candidate Ron Paul.

"While all of the major candidates have promised change, I believe it is the wrong change," Kras said. "We need to drastically shrink the size of our federal government and allow citizens to live their life without government interference."

For Valparaiso University student Tim Stride, picking a candidate has not been easy.

"In all of the other elections that I have been alive for, it was cut and dried who I would vote for," said Stride, a Naperville, Ill., native who registered to vote in Indiana.

The Republican-leaning 20-year-old said the candidates' plans for the war and the struggling economy should help make his decision.

If only the coverage of the close Democratic race would stop.

"I am definitely sick of this primary battle," Stride said. "I just wonder if it will ever become obvious to me who I should vote for."