Voters cast their presidential ballots the weekend before Election Day. (Shako Liu/Neon Tommy)

The 2012 presidential race likely will come down to who wins the most votes in a handful of battleground counties in Ohio, Florida and five other states.

In this special election report, first-year graduate students of the USC Annenberg School for Journalism master's program divided into two-member teams to interview people in these competitive counties, from Washoe, Nev. to Pinellas, Fla.

They interviewed hair stylists, business owners and restaurant entrepreneurs and the counties’ Democratic and Republican campaign leaders. They asked about the issues most crucial to the regions and heard about the campaign buzz in the swing counties. 

Eleven swing states played a crucial role in the 2004 presidential campaign, while the 2008 presidential race was decided in six swing states. This year, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have made great efforts to reach undecided voters in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin and Virginia.

Click throughout the map below for links to stories and infographics with the key players, facts and figures from 17 battleground counties:

“Swing state voters will decide the fate of this nation on Election Day,” said Nathan Conrad, communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin. “Every election is different and with a potentially close election on our hands, the voters in several key areas will help determine the course our nation takes for the next four years.”

Michael Hunt, communications director for the Iowa Democratic Party, explained that swing states typically move back and forth between which candidate they support as a whole.

"They are the cause of much interest for observers and news media, as well as people considering running for office," he said.

Counties in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin are especially considered “toss-ups” and both Romney and Obama have honed in on these specific regions, according to The New York Times.

“Both candidates have been here [in Iowa] this past week and they’re both going to come back next week as well,” said Megan Stiles, communications director for the Republican Party of Iowa. “Today [Nov. 2], Paul Ryan’s in Iowa and Mitt Romney’s going to be in Iowa both Saturday and Sunday. Obama’s going to be here on Monday, I believe. It’s very close; the polls [here] are all within a point or two.”

Hunt said Iowa could to Obama because the first state he visited while still a campaigning senator was Iowa, and he's spent considerable time there ever since.

In Wisconsin, Conrad said his state would go to Romney.

“Wisconsin has historically been a deeply purple state, yet, our side of the aisle has had a full head of steam and the momentum has been in our favor for months,” Conrad said. “Our strong showing during the recall [election] and Governor Scott Walker's seven-point victory this past June was just the beginning of the red tide in Wisconsin that will help us deliver our 10 electoral votes for the Romney/Ryan ticket this coming Election Day.”

The swing states crucial to the 2012 presidential race have the following numbers of electoral votes, each of which could be crucial to an Obama or Romney presidential victory, according to Politico.com,

These specific counties in the table listed below are among the most volatile for this year’s race for the White House. Every vote in these particular swing states will count when it comes to electing the nation’s next president. 

“It’s probably going to come down to which way the swing states vote on Election Night,” Stiles said. “A lot of the states [are definitely one-sided] … California definitely going to vote for President Obama and Texas will probably vote for Mitt Romney. But Iowa tends to flip back and forth a lot between Democratic and Republican, in terms of the presidential race. We voted for Obama in 2008, but for George Bush in 2004. It’s going to be really close and very interesting.”

Reach Kelli Shiroma here.