Voters like Dennis Wuske, who is still sitting on the fence less than three weeks from the November 2 election in one of the tightest presidential races on record.

The 36-year-old is concerned about job losses, and alarmed at the amount of money flowing to Iraq when so many home programs are crying out for funding. But he cannot commit to switch from Republican President George W. Bush to Democratic opponent John Kerry.

"My problem right now is changing leaders in the middle of the situation in Iraq," the Ohio native explained. "You know what to expect with Bush, whether you agree with him or not."

With the nation polarised, analysts say the election will turn on the support of undecided voters like Wuske in about 10 states where neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have a clear majority.

And nowhere is the battle for those votes more intense than in Stark County, Ohio, where independent-minded Ohians often switch parties and have a track record of backing the winner.

The county and the state narrowly backed Bush in 2000, and Leslie Riley, while she counts herself a Democrat, is sticking with the president.

"I feel more safe with Bush running the country," said the 50-year-old waitress during a brief respite from work at an Italian diner on main street. "I don't think Kerry supports our military."

Gerry Stopak, 57, voted for Democrat Bill Clinton and against the elder George Bush in 1992, but he's supporting the younger Bush this time.

"He's been consistent all the way through," Stopak said. Kerry "is just an opportunist," he added dismissively.