Procrastination is usually frowned upon, but in a narrowly divided presidential election, voters who have put off making a decision until the last minute could find themselves with the power to decide the future of the country.
Both campaigns and their outside allies have spent millions of dollars trying to find and reach the relative handful of dawdlers, late deciders and genuinely torn voters who are still undecided about how (and whether) to cast their ballots — precious needles in the gargantuan haystack of the American electorate who often have little interest in being found by political campaigns and have major problems with one or both major parties.
The ranks of the stragglers are dwindling quickly. In NBC News’ early October national survey, just 4% of registered voters said they didn’t want to make a choice between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. When NBC News contacted 40 of those again this week, 17 agreed to interviews and just five said they were still making up their minds.
Of the ones who have decided since surveyed three weeks ago, seven said they are voting for a third-party candidate or plan to write in another name. Two declined to share whom they plan to vote for. One said they plan to vote for Trump, another that they are likely to vote for Harris, and another plans to not vote at all.
Late-deciding voters broke for Trump in 2020 and 2016, with some analysts and strategists in both campaigns crediting late deciders for electing Trump eight years ago.
How anyone could still be undecided a week out from a critical election can be difficult to fathom for supporters of either Trump or Harris. But these late deciders have their reasons for dragging their feet.
Most are unhappy with their options on the ballot and the state of the country more generally. They feel conflicted, especially about Trump, with cross-pressures on different policies and their impressions of the candidates pulling them in opposite directions. Many pay little attention to politics and say they haven’t had time to do their research and reflection. And some say they wait until they are in their voting precinct to decide.
Here’s what they told NBC News about how they plan to make their decisions.
Who is still undecided?
Some voters who are still undecided said they need to learn more about the candidates’ policies.
Eric Bush, a systems administrator from Florida, said he’s waiting until he is in the voting booth to make his final choice. Despite not voting in 2020, he said he is going to vote this year.
“I’m extremely fiscally conservative,” Bush said, pointing to his focus on taxes. “But then socially, I’m extremely liberal. But at the same time, I don’t believe in having laws made to enforce my beliefs or my positions.”
Another voter from Connecticut also said he needs to do more research. But he said his most important focus is the economy and not social issues.
“I don’t really care what people do in terms of social issues like abortion and smoking pot, like go for it,” said the voter, who declined to share his name. He said he wants to focus on “understanding policy, not the person.”
More than one undecided voter had some unwelcome news for the Trump and Harris campaigns: The candidates can’t do much to sway them.
“There’s nothing they can say to make me get on their team,” said Deshaun Hall, a 38-year-old self-described “Afro American” poet from Pennsylvania.
“When I get into the booth, it would be more on: Do I go to a way that can help me financially more? Or will I help other people financially more? That would be my decision in the moment,” he added.
Hall is drawn to small-government Republican principles and could potentially support Trump, noting he thinks a vote for Trump could help him financially. But he is still weighing backing Harris, acknowledging a vote for Harris could lead to bigger-government policies that could help others.
“I never heard her say nothing on TV that seems crazy,” Hall said. “But the side effect to that is you don’t feel like you know who she is.”
Picking a side
While some voters are still undecided, others have made up their minds in recent weeks.
One man, a federal employee from Ohio who did not want to share his name, said he is almost certain he is voting for Harris. He said he is “sick of partisan politics” and is less thrilled about the Trump campaign’s message, saying the former president is not focused on unity.
“We are a very diverse nation. We have lots of ideas. We have lots of people here, and I fundamentally believe that all those voices have a seat at the table and need to be considered,” he said. “Majority rule is not always the wisest thing in terms of good decisions, and so I’m really looking for a candidate who’s able to work constructively, sort of across the aisle.”
On the other side is Helen Peppas, a 74-year-old Republican from Idaho, who said she wrestled for weeks about whether or not to vote for her party’s candidate. “God helped me make that decision,” she said. She ultimately backed Trump despite concerns about his actions after the 2020 election, describing him as a “spoiled little brat.”
“I do not like the man, but I feel like — that he did more for us when he was in before,” she said. “So I’m praying that he will be of a better mindset and not act all stupid like he did before.”
Another voter who did not want to give their name or share their vote choice said their decision hinged on which candidate could bring the most change.
He said that Harris struggling to name something she would have done differently than Biden left him “incredibly concerned.”
“Trump goes, ‘I’m gonna do the same thing [as] when I was in office.’ Kamala’s like, ‘I’m gonna do the exact same thing Biden was doing,’” the voter said, later adding: “That’s the worst thing. The last thing I want to hear is more of anything of the same with the last eight years.”
Choosing Door No. 3: Neither Harris nor Trump
Other late-deciding voters said they never picked Trump or Harris for a simple reason: They can’t stomach voting for either Trump or Harris, and they’re planning instead to support third-party candidates, write in someone else’s name or just stay home.
Rachel Naiziurski, a 37-year-old independent voter from western New York, said she is voting for Green Party candidate Jill Stein to protest against the Biden administration’s support for Israel in its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.
“I understand domestically, Trump would be worse for women here and personally my beliefs here,” she said. “But I cannot get over funding this genocide.” Naiziurski added that she might feel more compelled to support Harris if she lived in a swing state.
One voter from Amarillo, Texas, said he plans to vote for Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver, who he feels would come closest to “succeeding” in his policy goals — even though he doesn’t expect him to win.
The Texan, who declined to be named, said he aligns with Trump on most issues, including supporting gun rights, but he feels that he can’t vote for the former president after he “turned his back” on then-Vice President Mike Pence and other Republicans during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
“I cast my vote for [Oliver] because I cannot, in good faith, vote for the other two,” he said.
Rob Czaplewski, a 54-year-old Nebraska Republican, is planning to write in another name for president, likely former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who has endorsed Trump after scorching him as unfit for office when she ran against him in the GOP primary.
“I see a lot of people that I guess are doing the exact opposite of me. They’re trying to pick the lesser two evils … But I just don’t feel like I want to pick the lesser two evils,” he said. “I want to pick someone that I actually would have voted for, like Nikki Haley or Marco Rubio.”
Czaplewski said he has never voted for Trump, describing the former president as “unprofessional” and “undiplomatic” and saying “conspiracy theories seem to drive his policy.” But he also could not support Harris because he disagrees with her on policy, especially on social issues and immigration.
He said there is likely not anything Trump or Harris could say in the waning days of the race to change his mind.
”I know I’m throwing it out, throwing away my vote,” Czaplewski said. “But at least I can say I never voted for Trump.”