I am: Voting my mind — why these local voters made their presidential choices

If early voter turnout is any indication, this country’s citizens are ready to have their say in this heated presidential election.

More than 7.3 million people had already voted as of midweek. Counties in Texas reported record early voter turnout. Democrats were looking at improved performance compared to 2012 in North Carolina, Nevada and Arizona. Republicans were heartened by news of better performance in Iowa, according to CNN.

Closer to home, election workers saw long lines in Johnson County this past week; officials said they expected 160,000 of the county’s 400,000 registered voters to cast ballots early.

For this installment of our “I am …” series, we sought out four voters — two each from Missouri and Kansas — who were supporting the two major-party candidates: Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Each is confident their candidate is just the person to turn this country around, though for different reasons. That’s democracy, folks.

Or as Overland Park’s Gary Bachman says, “The reality is most of our lives are lived in the middle. It’s valuable to understand both sides of the argument.”

Braden Smith of Parkville: Young conservative says it’s his patriotic duty to vote for Hillary Clinton

Raquel Martinez of Kansas City: For Latina grandmother, Donald Trump is more qualified

Gary Bachman of Overland Park: Park University professor makes deliberate choice to vote for Hillary Clinton

Lisa Watson of Kansas City, Kan.: Former liberal is voting for Donald Trump because of education

This story was originally published October 27, 2016 at 3:02 PM with the headline "I am: Voting my mind — why these local voters made their presidential choices."