Experts tell us that this year's presidential election could be determined by a few million people living in one of the nation's "swing states," A swing state, or tossup state, is one that "swings" between the two major political parties in presidential elections, making it critical for the candidates to win in close elections.

The 2004 President election is shaping up to be one of the closest in history. With the election this close, the swing states have become the true battleground for the candidates, their teams, and their supporters.

Review Newsweek's "Swing State Watch" feature found on its Election 2004 homepage. The graphics illustrate the status of the election, electoral votes, and swing states as the election season moves to a close.

Imagine you have been called in to help advise the Bush or Kerry campaign from now until Election Day. Your job is to prepare a "game plan" that determines three swing states the campaign should focus on between now and Election Day. Which states should your candidate visit? Which should you buy advertising in? Which should you ignore?

Consider:

• The number of days left until Election Day.
• Current polling for each swing state.
• Current issues facing each swing state and the country.
• Historical information about each swing state.
• The number of electoral votes that your candidate needs to get to 270.
• Costs of political advertising and traveling to states vs. how much money your campaign has left to spend.

Present your game plan to the rest of the class. Then see how close your candidate's strategy is to the one you have outlined.