At Janelle's Diner in Pemberville, Ohio, Jim Witker, center, revels in the welcome his fellow dinners give his son, Arik, left, who is home from his latest military tour of duty in Afghanistan. Jim Witker says he feels neither major political party is a good representative of working people and small businesses.
A shed peeks above the corn line on a family farm near Sylvania, Ohio. With Ohio widely considered a swing state, politicians from both parties are campaigning hard to influence voters in small towns as the 2012 election draws nearer.
The Countyline Co-Op is fully staffed during harvest season. The Countyline Co-Op operates a grain elevator in Pemberville, Ohio, drawing farmers from the area. Many people in the area work in the agriculture industry.
Jack Eisenhour puts some of the blame on the Obama administration for the loss of the new-vehicle portion of his longtime family dealership in Pemberville, Ohio, though the registered Republican says he's no fan of Mitt Romney either. Eisenhour continues to get by, running a repair and resell shop, but he says he's worried about the prospects for the next generation of his family.
A customer browses through Beeker's General Store, a longtime fixture in downtown Pemverville, Ohio. As Election Day nears, residents are weighing the issues that matter to them.
Rebecca Acosta, right, sweeps the front porch of her home in Pemberville, Ohio, as her children play in the yard. Though she said that she benefits from from some of the policies aimed at helping the poor, she was strongly against increasing taxes on the wealthy to help fund those policies.
Rebecca Acosta's son plays in their family's house as she makes lunch at her home in Pemberville on Oct. 2, 2012. The town of Pemberville is a close knit community and Rebecca said the town's child-friendly atmosphere was important to her family.
Members of the Arcadia, Ohio, football team head back to the field after a break in practice. The Arcadia elementary, middle and high school grades are housed in one building. With 71 total faculty and staff, the schools are the largest employer in the town of about 500 residents. Several local residents said they had moved to Arcadia or stayed in town for the school, which has so many applications for open enrollment they must turn prospective students away. Education funding and policy are major motivators for voters in the area.
Dan Althaus goes over the Bill of Rights with his students in senior government class at Arcadia Local Schools on Oct. 16, 2012. There are several first-time voters in the class. Though Althaus doesn't usually share his political beliefs with his students, he says he has voted for candidates from both major political parties. In this election, he's particularly concerned about the country's finances. "Both parties have disappointed me in the last 30 years over how they've dealt with the debt," he said.
Michael Tong, 18, works on his family's farm in Arcadia on Oct. 16, 2012, as he usually does every day after school. Tong, a first-time voter, says he is concerned with the direction the country is moving. He’s decided he will vote for the Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
Carol Kimble, 64, of Findlay, holds her 10-month-old great-grandson Trayvon at he house her daughter rents in Arcadia. Kimble, who is from Arcadia originally, says she won't be voting in the upcoming November election. "It's the rich that seem to get all the help," she said. "They don't seem to be doing anything for the people who need help." With Ohio widely considered a swing state, politicians from both parties are campaigning hard to influence voters in small towns as the November election draws nearer.
A local boy lugs a pumpkin back to his mother's truck from the Abke property just outside Pemberville, Ohio. The Abke's get by on their family farm by holding day jobs and selling seasonal produce. Anyone who purchases their produce is on the honor system: they're asked to leave money in a box near the door.
Sydnie Abke, 10, stands barefoot on a bucket in the garage where her father, Russ, stores the family's farm equipment on their property near Pemberville, Ohio.
Large tracts of farmland near Pemberville, Ohio, have already been cleared and plowed in the fall harvest. The small farming community of about 1,500 people are finding themselves in the center of the national election.
Pemberville, Ohio, resident Marcy Abke watches the first presidential debate with her daughter, Sydnie, 10. Mrs. Abke, whose concerns range from the national debt to affordability of college for her three children, was undecided on which candidate she would cast her vote for in the upcoming election.