US swing state voters: 'You have a big say on what happens in the entire world'

A graphic with four photos of swing state voters
Rachel Looker
BBC News, Washington

In US elections, it's not only who you vote for that matters - just as important can be where you live.

The 2024 presidential race will likely come down to seven key battleground states: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada.

With tight margins expected, the people that live in these states are the most sought after by political campaigns.

As Vice-President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump vie for their attention, here's what swing state voters had to say about the at-times stressful role they play.

This small business owner from western Pennsylvania is a registered Democrat who plans to vote for Harris.

I’m out in the rural parts of the state and there's a lot of Trump support out here. But there's also a lot of people that at a certain point... there's certain things that just aren't acceptable. Just the way a lot of us are raised out here, there's things that he's done that it's just not right.

[The political advertising] is annoying more than anything else because everybody knows at the end of the day, the advertisements are packed full of lies.

We're potentially playing kingmaker here. It is kind of nerve-wracking knowing that we're going to play such a big role because there's a lot of people that are just so burnt out about everything...

It's very strange knowing that your neighbours are probably going to have a really big say in what happens in the entire world for the next four years.

Andy lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The retired Marine plans to vote for Trump, who he backed in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

One neighbour across the street might have two Trump signs and then the neighbour next door might have four Harris signs. It's like a battle of who can out-sign the other person.

To be at the forefront of the voting every year is cool in a sense that it puts us on the map, but not necessarily always for the best things.

I recently moved back [to Pennsylvania] in 2018. When I was coming up to visit my now-wife, I saw Trump signs everywhere in 2016 and I thought: He's going to win.

In 2020, I saw less Trump signs and I just got a vibe that there's no way he's going to win. Now, it's 50-50. I have no idea what's going to happen.

This independent voter has lived most of her life in Wisconsin. The 74 year old is retired and plans to vote for Harris.

We are constantly bombarded with political ads on TV... I did see a big, lighted Trump sign when I went shopping. I was sort of shocked by it. It’s a huge sign.

I'm just very suspicious about what's going on with a lot of the people in the ads. It's gotten just much worse. The ads have gotten horrendous... distortion is so over the top.

I'm definitely voting for Harris and I'm worried because it seems that MAGA [Trump's Make America Great Again movement] can really distort things and confuse people so easily.

This engineer from the swing state of Michigan is a Democrat who is planning to vote for Harris in November.

I've never voted Republican once in my life and I'm still getting mailers in my mailbox addressed to me on practically a daily basis from the Republican Party. It is non-stop, incessant up here and it's exhausting.

I want to say that it's really disheartening [to carry the weight of a swing state] because I personally believe in more of a ranked-choice voting style and not necessarily the electoral college.

Being part of a state where it is a little bit more neck and neck and more decisive, it's one of those places where I can understand people really need to go out to make their voices heard. But it shouldn't just be focused on this state. Every state should have a similar amount of people wanting to get out, vote and make their voices heard.

Jonathan is a teacher who became a US citizen this year. He plans to cast his first vote for Trump.

I generally don’t understand - very little changes when a Republican or a Democrat becomes president. I don’t quite understand the hysteria.

I don’t think there’s many people my age who I hang around with who are desperate for either candidate. Trump talks about the treatment of migrants versus the abortion issue and the treatment of the unborn. I land on Trump being a lesser evil than Kamala Harris in regards to that.

I barely watch any typical American television. We probably get more mail in the house, but that’s because now I’m registered to vote so I’m seeing more. I wouldn’t say it’s particularly more prevalent.

This independent voter backed Biden in the last presidential election and plans to vote for Harris this year. Biden only narrowly won Arizona in 2020.

It seems to me that the Trump voters are more on public display. They have their flags. They have their signs. They have their bumper stickers. I don't know if they're proud or they're trying to convince everybody else to do something, but it seems more prevalent that you see that.

I've seen a few Harris signs and I like them. But I think that the people who support Harris are not as in your face.

I sometimes get nervous because I want Harris to win, but I say to myself: "I can do one thing. I can only do one thing and that's put my vote in and that's all I can do."

This independent voter is a greenskeeper at a Michigan golf course who plans on reluctantly backing Trump in the election.

I live in a rural area, so it's very, very Trumpy up here. It’s almost embarrassing because we get a lot of tourists up here and it's like: You guys are going to put so much Trump stuff on your walls?

I have mentioned to my wife that I'm the one the campaigns are aiming at. I'm an independent voter in a swing state. I just view myself as a drop in a bucket when it comes down to it.

I understand the way it's working out with the electoral college and I'm in a swing state, so my vote is a little more unusually valuable than it normally would be. But I try not to think about it that way. I'm just a regular guy casting my vote like everybody else.

This 34-year-old teacher in the swing state of Georgia is an independent voter who plans to vote for Harris.

I'm definitely anxious. I know this is a really tight knit race between our two candidates.

Political ads are everywhere. Every streaming service, every YouTube video, everything has ads. I've noticed that the Harris-Walz campaign is definitely putting out more advertising than I've noticed from the Trump-Vance campaign here in Georgia.

I think it's exciting. I'm excited to see Georgia being a battleground state. For so long, it was staunchly red and staunchly Republican.

To have this kind of conversation and be able to know that my vote matters a little bit more and that it's more important than it may have been traditionally is exciting. It's firing me up to get involved in the political process.

This legal assistant from Beaver, Pennsylvania - the swing state with the highest number of electoral votes - is a Democrat who will be voting for Harris.

I'm trying to remain optimistic, but I'm still pretty anxious, because it is Pennsylvania and you're surrounded by the division everywhere.

I guess that's what continues to make me anxious living in Pennsylvania and knowing how important Pennsylvania is for these federal elections. I hate to see how purple it is right now.

It feels like a responsibility to be from a state like this. The conversation about being in Pennsylvania and the burden of how many delegates we have and all of this - it's really wild.

In the lead-up to election day, BBC Voter Voices is hearing from Americans around the country about what matters to them.

Are you an American voter? Want to join in? Apply to be featured in future BBC stories here.

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