They spent months talking about the issues, they studied the electoral process and most of them stayed up late to watch the election results. But none of them could have predicted the outcome.
A week after the presidential election, the nation still is not sure who will be the next commander in chief, and students in John Sullivan's American government class at Carson High School are trying to sort it out.
"It ticks me off," said Betty Howard, 18. "I don't think they should be recounting anything. People voted and that's how it should stand."
However, Alecia Lint, 17, is in favor of the recount taking place in Florida.
"The recount is a good idea," she said. "Everybody makes mistakes. I think they're just trying to be fair about it."
There was little sympathy among students for voters in Palm Beach, Fla., who claim to have mistakenly voted for Pat Buchanan instead of Vice President Al Gore.
"I don't think the ballots were confusing at all," said Rindi Bowden, 18. "If you used common sense, you could have figured it out."
Some see the makings of a hidden agenda.
"It's the peoples' mistake," said Marshall Anderson, 17. "It shouldn't hurt the president. Gore is just trying to make himself win."
Whether in favor of Gore or Texas Gov. George W. Bush, students agree that the process has become more interesting because of the electoral confusion.
"I'm kind of surprised that I'm actually interested in it," said Jessie Hong, 17. "I think a lot of people that normally wouldn't have voted turned out."
After learning about the electoral college, the students are concerned whether it is the most effective and just way to choose the president.
"I think it should be changed," said Derek Wilson, 17. "I think it should be strictly the popular vote."
Julie Ponte, 17, thinks the individual can get lost in the electoral college.
"With the electoral vote, it's not really the people's voice you're hearing," Ponte said. "In Nevada, it's just the four people in the electoral college."
Despite the strong feelings many of the students hold regarding the election, none of them turned out to vote.
They said this year's election has showed them the importance of casting the vote - a lesson Sullivan said is worth learning.
"It's been a wonderful teaching tool to talk about the most fundamental part of democracy - voting," he said.